Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 End Nearly Flat Ahead of Fed Interest-Rate Decision

The Federal Open Market Committee is holding a two-day meeting, where the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the first time after raising them over the past two years. There is uncertainty over whether the Fed will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points, but markets reacted positively ahead of the meeting.

Megan Horneman, the chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors, highlighted concerns that markets may have already priced in a rate cut. She noted that historically, the S&P 500 often struggles before the first rate cut, as rate cuts usually signal an approaching recession. However, the S&P 500 has risen 28% in the last 12 months, an unusual trend compared to past rate cut periods.

The major U.S. indices opened higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite leading with a 0.7% gain.