US open: Major indices mixed as Fed policy meeting begins

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Tuesday as market participants patiently awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee's March policy meeting.

As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.42% at 38,952.69, while the S&P 500 lost 0.05% to 5,146.61 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.41% weaker at 16,037.70.

The Dow opened 162.26 points higher on Tuesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Investors will turn their attention to Washington on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting, with a recent batch of concerning inflation figures leaving traders fearful that the central bank may look to hold benchmark interest rates at a higher level for longer than previously expected.

Also in focus, Wall Street darling Nvidia shares were lower early on Tuesday following its first-ever GTC Conference, during which chief executive Jensen Huang unveiled its latest artificial intelligence chip, Blackwell, which he claimed was significantly more powerful than its current chips.

On the macro front, both building permits and housing starts surged across the US in February, according to the Census Bureau, beating forecasts. Building permits rose 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 1.51m in February, exceeding market forecasts for a reading of 1.49m to hit the highest level seen since August 2023. Housing starts soared 10.7% month-on-month to an annualised rate of 1.52m, after falling by 12.3% in January, smashing expectations for a reading of 1.42m, amid a persistent shortage of previously owned houses.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $282.92 1.56%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $377.12 1.40%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $490.98 0.81%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.85 0.65%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $156.38 0.62%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $419.90 0.62%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $223.27 0.61%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $162.08 0.54%
Boeing Co. (BA) $180.80 0.54%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $99.22 0.49%