Wall Street today: US stocks slip ahead of Federal Reserve decision

US stocks slipped on Tuesday ahead of expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

As of 12:39 PM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% lower.

As of 9:35 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 edged up by 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% higher.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.1 points, or 0.08%, to 45,919.54. The S&P 500 rose 8.9 points, or 0.13%, to 6,624.13, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 48.7 points, or 0.22%, to 22,397.498.

The US Federal Reserve’s seventh monetary policy meeting started on Tuesday and will conclude on September 17, with a policy decision.

At the meeting, the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates due to a slowdown in the labor market.

Markets expect the US central bank to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

US retail sales rose by 0.6% on a month-on-month basis in August.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03% from 4.05% late on Monday.

Oracle stock rose 0.4% as the United States and China progressed towards a final accord on TikTok that reportedly maintains the US software company's cloud deal with the platform.

New York Times Co. shares dropped 2.7% after Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper and four of its journalists on Monday.

Dave & Buster’s stock fell 16.4% after the entertainment chain reported a weaker quarterly profit.

Ralph Lauren shares lost 1.3% and got a tepid reception to the unveiling of its long-term financial plan.

Steel Dynamics stock climbed 6.8% after the company said it’s seeing improved earnings.

Gold prices advanced to a record high on Tuesday, on a weakening US dollar and growing market anticipation ahead of the Fed policy meeting.

As of 8:09 AM ET (1209 GMT), spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,696.34 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.4% to $3,733.70.

Among other metals, spot silver was up 0.2% at $42.81 per ounce, platinum gained 0.6% to $1,407.70 and palladium rose 1.6% to $1,203.19.

Oil prices gained on Tuesday as markets weighed a potential disruption of supplies from Russia due to Ukrainian drone attacks on its ports and refineries.

At 1318 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 67 cents, or 1%, to $68.11 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $64.12, up 82 cents, or 1.3%.

Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

Download the Mint app and read premium stories