NEW YORK - US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve commenced its final monetary policy meeting of 2025, with wide anticipation for another interest rate cut on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 179.03 points, or 0.38 percent, to 47,560.29. The S&P 500 edged lower by 6 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,840.51. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 30.58 points, or 0.13 percent, to 23,576.49.
Among the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, six recorded gains, led by energy and consumer staples, which rose 0.69 percent and 0.38 percent, respectively. Health care and industrials were the main decliners, falling 0.98 percent and 0.73 percent, respectively.
Market participants continue to strongly favor a 25-basis-point reduction in the federal funds rate. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, Fed Funds futures currently imply an 88.6 percent probability.
Traders also monitored the delayed release of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which reported 7.67 million job openings, exceeding the consensus forecast of 7.2 million and signaling persistent labor demand.
The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 4.18 percent from 4.15 percent before the data release, adding modest pressure on equities.
In banking developments, shares of JPMorgan Chase tumbled 4.66 percent, exerting downward influence on the Dow Jones average, after Marianne Lake, CEO of the firm's Consumer & Community Banking division, described the operating environment as "a little bit more fragile" during remarks at the Goldman Sachs US Financial Services Conference.
Technology giant Alphabet Inc. saw its shares rise over 1 percent despite the European Commission initiating an antitrust investigation into whether its Google division violated EU competition regulations by leveraging third-party web publishers' content to train artificial intelligence models.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot declined 1.33 percent following the release of preliminary fiscal 2026 guidance that fell short of analyst projections. Conversely, CVS Health Corp. advanced 2.23 percent after the pharmacy chain elevated its full-year earnings outlook.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery extended gains from Monday, amid Paramount's aggressive 108-billion-US-dollar hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a development that continues to complicate Netflix's earlier proposed acquisition of the target's studios and streaming assets.
