Dow, S&P 500 close lower as investors await Fed meeting results

Fears about an overheating economy and a recent rise in interest rates mean investors are carefully watching the United States Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.

The S&P 500 ended lower on Tuesday, weighed down by energy and industrial stocks as investors awaited the result of the United States Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. The US stock market lacked direction for much of the day after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at record highs on Monday. Wall Street has recently benefitted from optimism about a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package and ongoing vaccination drives that have bolstered views that the economy is on a path to recovery. At the same time, fears about an overheating economy and a recent increase in interest rates have increased scrutiny on the Fed’s two-day meeting, where policymakers are likely to raise economic forecasts and repeat their pledge to remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.