| The tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 30.58 points (0.1%) to 23,576,49, the S&P 500 edged down 6.00 points (0.1%) to 6,840.51 and the Dow fell 179.03 points (0.4%) to 47,560.29.
Wall Street saw choppy trading as investors held back ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. Although the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point, uncertainty remains over the longer-term rate path. According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, there’s an 87.4% chance of a rate cut this week but a 67.5% chance rates will stay unchanged in January.
Market participants are closely watching the Fed’s statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for cues on future policy direction. Meanwhile, U.S. job openings edged up slightly to 7.67 million in October from 7.66 million in September. Economists at Oxford Economics noted this stability supports the likelihood of a near-term pause after the upcoming rate cut.
Gold stocks moved sharply higher amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4%. Oil service and brokerage stocks saw some strength while housing and pharmaceutical stocks moved to the downside.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.3% and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4%, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1%.
In the bond market, treasuries moved modestly lower over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 1.4 bps to 4.18%.
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