US stocks dip as markets await Fed decision, tech earnings
- S&P 500 slipped 0.1% while Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.1%
NEW YORK: US stocks dipped early Wednesday as markets digested the latest jump in oil prices resulting from the Middle East war and awaited big tech earnings and a Federal Reserve decision.
Oil prices were up more than six percent as US President Donald Trump vowed to hit back hard at Iran after it attacked US bases in Jordan, blunting hopes the US-Iran war was closer to resolution.
About five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8 percent at 52,307.48.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 7,419.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.1 percent to 24,850.62.
Cresset Capital’s Jack Ablin said investors are also heavily focused on earnings from tech giants Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, all of whom are players in artificial intelligence and will report within the next two days.
“It was remarkable that equities really, for most of this year, shrugged off oil prices, with investors focusing instead on earnings,” Ablin said. “I think oil prices will matter, especially if they stay persistently high.”
A majority of investors believe the Fed is likely to hold interest rates steady, but a sizeable minority in futures markets believe the Fed under new Chair Kevin Warsh will increase rates, adding more uncertainty to equity markets.