Wall Street set for lower open, Fed meet in focus

U.S. stock indexes were poised for a lower open on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting, with focus on any insights from the central bank regarding the economic repercussions of the ongoing tariff frictions.

The central bank’s two-day rate-setting meeting kicks off on Tuesday, and expectations are that the Fed will keep interest rates steady, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Several Fed officials have cautioned against hasty moves, with policymakers awaiting tangible data on tariff impacts.

“The Fed does not want to front run the potential impact of policy, especially since it seems to be on and off. It’s a difficult job to walk this tightrope,” said Art Hogan, market strategist at B. Riley.

Trump’s tariff measures have sparked a trade tussle with major U.S. trading partners, prompting swift retaliatory actions. Analysts said U.S. equities dipped into oversold territory last week.

At 08:45 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 16.75 points, or 0.29%, with 196,008 contracts changing hands, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 92.25 points, or 0.47%, Dow E-minis were down 77 points, or 0.18%.

Wall St mixed after latest economic data

Nvidia edged lower in premarket trading. The company is expected to reveal details of its latest AI chip at its annual software developer conference.

Focus will also be on developments related to the Ukraine-Russia war, with Trump scheduled to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin at 9 a.m. ET.

Gold crossed $3,000 per ounce for the first time last week, and hit another record high earlier in the session.

U.S.-listed stocks of gold miners such as Barrick Gold rose 2% and Gold Fields gained 3.6%.

Some investors continued with “dip buying,” capitalizing on discounted U.S. equities, that propelled all three major indexes up more than 2% each over the past two sessions.

Last week, the S&P 500 has tumbled more than 10% from its February peak, signaling the benchmark index entered a correction phase.

The blue-chip Dow index hovered about 3% shy of a correction, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed it is in a correction on March 6.

Tesla fell 3.6% after brokerage RBC trimmed its price target on the stock, flagging that the EV maker is losing market share in China and Europe.

U.S. single-family homebuilding rebounded sharply in February, with industrial production data for the same month expected later in the day.