S&P 500 Steady as Fed Rate Cut Looms

The S&P 500 held firm ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected quarter-point cut to 4.00%–4.25%, with traders eyeing Chair Powell’s remarks and the new dot plot. Global equities, led by a 1.4% jump in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, advanced while gold hit record highs and the dollar slid to a four-year low versus the euro. US Treasuries weakened, Trump pressed the Fed from London, and Japan’s exports fell for a fourth straight month amid tariff pressures.

Equities

The FTSE 100 fell 0.9% on Tuesday, pulled lower by banks, insurers and a firmer pound. Haleon closed 4.8% down after Barclays downgraded the consumer healthcare group to “equal weight” from “overweight” and trimmed its price target, citing limited upside. HSBC slipped 1.1% as financial stocks weakened ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement.

EasyJet lost 3.3% after JPMorgan cut its rating to “neutral” and added the carrier to its negative catalyst list. Among the day’s gainers, gold miner Fresnillo rose 2.1% as bullion prices firmed, while Trustpilot climbed almost 15% following half-year results that included an upbeat trading outlook.

In New York, Wall Street’s main indices ended slightly lower as investors awaited the Fed’s interest rate decision. The S&P 500 slipped 0.13% to 6,606.76, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.27% to 45,757.90 and the Nasdaq eased 0.07% to 22,333.96. Six of the S&P 500’s eleven sectors fell, led by utilities, down 1.81%, and real estate, off 0.66%. Market activity was firm, with 17.11 billion shares changing hands, above the 20-day average.

Among major US companies, UnitedHealth Group dropped 2.3%, weighing on the Dow, while Nvidia slid 1.6% after reports of weaker demand in China for its new AI chip. Oracle gained 1.5% after former President Donald Trump said the US and China had agreed a framework to keep TikTok operating domestically, with Oracle part of the investor group. Webtoon Entertainment surged 39% after unveiling a partnership with Disney to develop a digital comics platform featuring Marvel and “Star Wars” content.

Forex & Commodities

The dollar stayed weak ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate announcement, holding near four-year lows against the euro and its lowest for a month against the yen. The euro traded at $1.1852 in Asian hours, just below Tuesday’s $1.1879 high, while the yen firmed to ¥146.22 per dollar before easing slightly to ¥146.49. Sterling was steady at $1.364, close to two-and-a-half-month highs after softer UK jobs data left investors expecting the Bank of England to keep rates unchanged this week. The dollar index stood at 96.69, near its lowest since July, with traders awaiting Chair Jerome Powell’s comments after an expected quarter-point cut later today.

Gold retreated after setting a record on Tuesday. Spot bullion slipped to $3,671 per ounce by mid-morning in Asia, down from $3,703 after profit-taking and a modest uptick in the dollar. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust rose to 979.95 tonnes on Tuesday from 976.80 tonnes a day earlier, reflecting investor interest. Silver was quoted at $41.86 per ounce, platinum at $1,391 and palladium at $1,165.

Oil prices eased slightly following gains the day before. Brent crude stood at $68.39 a barrel at 06:30 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate was at $64.46, both slipping after Tuesday’s rise of more than 1% on concerns over potential disruption to Russian supplies. Transneft has warned producers about possible output cuts after Ukrainian drone attacks on export terminals and refineries. Industry figures showed US crude stocks fell by 3.42 million barrels last week, with gasoline inventories also lower and distillates higher, ahead of official data later today.