Stock market today: Dow looks to snap longest losing streak since 1978 with Fed decision on deck
Stocks eyed a rebound Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow looking
to snap its longest losing streak since 1978
. The Federal Reserve will take focus later with its latest interest rate decision.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (
ES=F
) were up 0.3%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (
NQ=F)
rose 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (
YM=F
) were also up 0.3%, as the index tried to have its first session in the green in 10 tries.
The Dow's losing streak is its longest in nearly a half-century, spoiling the mood of what has been a near-universal rip-roaring rally in 2024. As
Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer details
, the blue-chip index has been left behind in a tech-focused bump lately.
Healthcare stocks have been at the forefront of the decline, with UnitedHealth Group (
UNH
) down nearly 20% in the two weeks since
the murder of CEO Brian Thompson
. Meanwhile, one of the tech-focused stocks that is part of the Dow — AI giant Nvidia (
NVDA
) — has been in the midst of an over 10% slump from its record in November. Nvidia was up almost 3% premarket Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Fed will take center stage later Wednesday
with its last interest rate decision before the end of the year
— and before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The central bank is widely expected to cut rates for a third consecutive meeting. Instead, the Fed's forecast for 2025 will likely take the focus, as it could be
on the verge of ripping up its script for next year
.