US close: Dow falls for ninth straight day as investors await FOMC

Wall Street's three main equity benchmarks were in the red on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected economic data, with the Dow extending its recent losing streak and the Nasdaq retreating from a record high.

The Dow fell for the ninth straight session – its longest losing streak in nearly 50 years – dropping 0.6%, while S&P 500 declined 0.4% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.

Investors were beginning to look ahead to Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with a 25-basis point reduction in the Fed Funds Rate more or less priced into markets.

However, stronger-than-expected retail sales data out during Tuesday's session may have tempered projections for further monetary easing in 2025. Strong auto sales drove national retail sales up 0.7% in November, up from 0.5% in October and ahead of the 0.5% increase expected.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said the upside surprise suggests "the economy is ticking over nicely and the Federal Reserve might need to slow down the pace of monetary policy easing".

He said that the focus of the FOMC statement will be on any comments regarding the future path for interest rates, with growing expectations that the Fed could pause its current rate-cutting cycle early in the new year.

"It might simply be investors locking in some profit before Christmas with a view to taking a short break. Any sense that rate cuts might become more pedestrian in the new year could cause a wobble on markets and some investors could be reducing their exposure until conditions move more in their favour," Coatsworth said.

In other economic news, US industrial production fell by 0.1% in November following a 0.4% decline the month before, surprising economists who had pencilled in a rebound of 0.3%.

Finally, the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index was unchanged at 46 in December, slightly below forecasts for a modest uptick to 47 as elevated home prices and mortgage rates offset renewed hopes for a better regulatory business climate in 2025.

Market movers

Shares in pharmaceutical and biotech giant Pfizer were on the rise on Tuesday after the New York-based outfit delivered guidance for 2025 that met analysts' forecasts. The company pointed to annual revenues of $61bn to $64bn for next year, in line with guidance for 2024, despite an expected $1bn negative hit from changes to the US government's drug price controls. Current FactSet consensus is for a figure close to $63.2bn.

Chip stocks were out of favour, with Nvidia extending its recent losses after dropping into correction territory the day before. The stock, which declined 1.2%, has now fallen in eight of the past nine sessions, losing a total of 10% of its value.

Sector peer Broadcom was pulling back 4% after having surged 38% over the previous two days on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results.

Health insurer Humana slumped 10% after Donald Trump suggesting cutting out the "middle man" in the health insurance sector. Unitedhealth also fell, with the company still reeling from the fallout of the killing of Brian Thompson, the head of its insurance unit, two weeks ago.

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $146.52 1.78%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.40 1.36%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $40.57 1.15%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $78.00 1.04%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $253.48 0.97%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.02 0.81%
Visa Inc. (V) $318.14 0.76%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $454.46 0.64%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $95.42 0.58%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $58.52 0.29%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $485.52 -2.60%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.97 -2.06%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $574.68 -1.99%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.44 -1.87%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $350.81 -1.75%
3M Co. (MMM) $128.05 -1.10%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $243.67 -1.07%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $148.24 -0.84%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $375.80 -0.82%
American Express Co. (AXP) $301.34 -0.73%

S&P 500 - Risers

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $26.43 4.67%
VF Corp. (VFC) $22.59 4.49%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $8.65 3.97%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $57.71 3.19%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $7.83 2.76%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.96 2.54%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $175.38 2.18%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $740.01 2.09%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.02 2.00%
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $155.49 1.86%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Humana Inc. (HUM) $233.89 -10.20%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $44.04 -5.49%
Apache Corp. (APA) $21.05 -4.06%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $240.23 -3.91%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.97 -3.54%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $83.18 -3.33%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $79.19 -3.13%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $64.44 -3.10%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $112.95 -3.07%
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $147.80 -2.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $479.86 3.64%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $74.61 2.83%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.96 2.54%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $67.19 2.52%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $740.01 2.09%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $90.18 2.08%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $735.19 1.77%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $37.27 1.53%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.72 1.21%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $253.48 0.97%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $240.23 -3.91%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $220.71 -3.82%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $13.14 -2.74%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $73.18 -2.61%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.45 -2.51%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $371.03 -2.10%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.97 -2.06%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $19.19 -2.04%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $511.87 -1.96%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.44 -1.87%