Stocks Plummet as Fed Meeting Looms, Crude Oil Prices Soar
The stock market continued its downward trend on Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose, with the front-month West Texas Intermediate futures contract increasing by 4.5%. This was partly due to attacks on a land-based pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which has shut down the country's attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The 10-year Treasury yield declined from its intraday peak but remained at its highest level since 2007. Federal funds rate futures prices showed a 94.5% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut, up from 93.5% on Monday.
Nvidia was one of the few stocks to show gains, with CEO Jensen Huang participating in a live conversation with President Donald Trump about artificial intelligence anxiety. Chevron paced the Dow, while Goldman Sachs suffered losses due to comments by Bank of America's CEO.