U.S. stock indexes drop, dollar and yields edge higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 179.03 points, or 0.38%, to 47,560.29, the S&P 500 declined 6.00 points, or 0.09%, to 6,840.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 30.58 points, or 0.13%, to 23,576.49

U.S. stock indexes mostly dropped, while the dollar and Treasury yields edged higher on Tuesday before a likely interest rate cut from the country’s central bank but also possibly hawkish comments from policymakers.

Treasury yields and the dollar gained after the release of U.S. labour market data, which showed U.S. job openings increased modestly in October while hiring remained subdued.

The central bank is widely expected to announce on Wednesday a rate cut, but investors expect policymakers to remain divided.

Some policymakers have warned that price pressures could easily pick up again, while others have been more concerned about the labour market’s health.

It’s the quiet before the storm. We have a big Fed meeting tomorrow – a big catalyst, and so it is normal to have mild market moves right now, said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.

Investors also digested news that U.S. will allow Nvidia’s H200 processors, its second-best artificial intelligence chips, to be exported to China, collecting a 25% fee on such sales. Shares of Nvidia were down 0.3%.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady as expected on Tuesday. More notably, however, it ruled out further policy easing and warned that rates could move higher if inflation pressures prove stubborn. The Australian dollar gained 0.3% to US$0.6641.

The Bank of Canada and Swiss National Bank are both expected to hold rates steady when they meet on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe dropped 1.60 points, or 0.16%, to 1,006.44. The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.1%.