Dow Jones Industrial Average Falls Again

Investing.com— The Dow closed lower for the ninth day on Tuesday, marking its longest losing streak since 1978 as the Federal Reserve began its final meeting of the year.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 266 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 index declined 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.3%.

Retail Sales Surprise to Upside as Fed Meeting Begins

Retail sales rose by 0.7% in November, surpassing the 0.6% forecast, indicating that the U.S. economy continues to grow at a healthy pace despite rising interest rates.

The central bank is widely anticipated to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of the two-day meeting on Wednesday.

Although a rate cut seems largely priced in by markets, particularly after recent gains on Wall Street, attention will focus mainly on the Fed’s outlook on interest rates.

Investors expect the Fed to signal a slower pace of easing in 2025, amid signs of persisting inflation and strength in the labor market, both significant concerns for the Fed.

Analysts from Goldman Sachs indicated they no longer expect a rate cut in January, predicting a slower rate decrease in the coming year.

Traders are pricing in an 81.9% chance that the Fed will keep rates unchanged in January, according to CME Fedwatch.

Tech Sector Struggles After Recent Surge as Nvidia Fades

The tech sector paused on Tuesday as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 1%, continuing its decline into correction territory after experiencing a 10% slump from its recent high.

Meanwhile, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) avoided the broader market weakness after Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) upgraded the electric vehicle manufacturer to outperform, raising its price target for the stock to $515 from $230, attributing this boost to easing regulations.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) stock increased 4.6% after the company projected that its 2025 profits would nearly meet expectations, as it focuses on cutting costs and reducing debt by divesting non-core businesses following a drop in COVID-19 product sales.

Crypto-focused stocks, including Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), ended lower as Bitcoin retreated after reaching a record high of over $108,000.

*(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)