US open: Stocks lower as investors look ahead to FOMC decision

(Sharecast News) - Major indices opened lower on Tuesday as investors continued to await the outcome of the Federal Reserve's meeting and thumbed over a number of data points early on in the session. As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.54% at 43,482.48, while the S&P 500 lost 0.57% to 6,039.24 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.74% weaker at 20,024.54.

The Dow opened 235.00 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as the blue-chip index registered its longest losing streak in over six years.

The Federal Open Markets Committee will kick off its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank widely expected to cut its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday. Traders will also be locked in on comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell as they hope to gain further insight into just what the central bank's next move may be.

On the macro front, US retail sales increased by 0.7% month-on-month in November, according to the Census Bureau, ahead of October's upwardly revised 0.5% growth and beating expectations for a 0.5% improvement. November's increase continued to point to robust consumer spending throughout the month, with the sharpest increases seen in motor vehicle and parts dealers, and non-store retailers, up 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively. Conversely, sales declined by 3.5% at miscellaneous store retailers.

Elsewhere, industrial production retreated 0.9% year-on-year in November, according to the Federal Reserve, following the prior month's 0.5% decrease, while capacity utilisation fell to 76.8% from October's downwardly revised print of 77%, missing forecasts for a print of 77.3%.

On another note, US business inventories rose by 0.1% month-on-month in October, according to the Census Bureau, following last month's revised flat reading and in line with market expectations. Stocks increased at retailers and merchant wholesalers but fell at manufacturers. On an annualised basis, inventories were up 2.4%.

Finally, the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index was unchanged at 46 in December, slightly below forecasts for a modest uptick to 47 as elevated home prices and mortgage rates offset renewed hopes for a better regulatory business climate in 2025.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $78.17 1.26% Boeing Co. (BA) $175.19 1.17% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.20 1.04% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $40.47 0.89% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $58.83 0.82% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $144.60 0.52% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $252.09 0.42% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $267.58 0.41% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $298.73 0.34% Visa Inc. (V) $316.55 0.21%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $485.15 -2.68% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.97 -2.11% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $350.94 -1.76% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $576.40 -1.69% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $147.63 -1.16% 3M Co. (MMM) $128.00 -1.14% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $243.60 -1.09% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $237.23 -0.98% Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.68 -0.72% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $407.80 -0.71%

S&P 500 - Risers

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $26.17 3.64% Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $56.94 1.91% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $738.61 1.90% AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $174.79 1.84% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $110.21 1.81% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $152.97 1.65% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $82.02 1.64% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $199.79 1.59% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $201.27 1.57% Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $180.02 1.56%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $237.20 -5.12% Apache Corp. (APA) $21.00 -4.26% FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $29.52 -4.19% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $31.84 -3.46% CVS Health Corp (CVS) $45.08 -3.26% Humana Inc. (HUM) $252.51 -3.05% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $128.14 -2.92% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.03 -2.82% NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $91.58 -2.76% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $485.15 -2.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $479.64 3.59% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $67.25 2.61% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $738.30 2.20% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $738.61 1.90% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $110.21 1.81% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $152.97 1.65% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $82.02 1.64% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $199.79 1.59% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $201.27 1.57% Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $73.54 1.52%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $237.20 -5.12% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $128.14 -2.92% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.09 -2.43% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.97 -2.11% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $371.89 -1.87% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $229.19 -1.61% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $59.93 -1.46% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $13.33 -1.33% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.60 -1.29% American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.33 -1.18%