Wall Street Mixed as Fed Decision and Big Tech Earnings Loom

U.S. stocks traded in mixed fashion on Tuesday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and a wave of heavyweight technology earnings that mark the early stages of this quarter’s reporting season.

By 09:33 ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 455 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.6%, supported by strength in technology shares.

Markets were largely in wait-and-see mode as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, with officials seen balancing easing financial conditions against cooling inflation and a labor market showing gradual moderation.

Recent data has reinforced expectations that policymakers will avoid signaling near-term rate cuts, as they seek clearer evidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward the Fed’s 2% target. Investors will be closely watching Chair Jerome Powell’s tone for any clues on the timing and pace of potential cuts later this year.

President Donald Trump’s announcement that tariffs on South Korean imports will rise to 25% from 15%—after accusing Seoul of failing to approve a bilateral trade deal—had little immediate impact on sentiment, reflecting the market’s focus on the Fed.

Beyond rates, attention is also on who will succeed Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. Market chatter has pointed to BlackRock executive Rick Rieder as a potential candidate, though analysts caution that Fed independence will remain under pressure regardless of the outcome.

Earnings season is also gathering pace, with more than 90 S&P 500 companies set to report this week. So far, results have been encouraging, with roughly three-quarters of reporting firms beating expectations, according to FactSet.

While upcoming reports from Meta Platforms, Tesla, Microsoft and Apple are expected to dominate headlines, Tuesday brought a flurry of notable releases:

• Boeing swung to a fourth-quarter profit, aided by asset sales, rising jet output and stronger deliveries.
• American Airlines forecast 2026 profit above expectations on a rebound in corporate travel and robust demand for premium services.
• General Motors posted higher core profit on strong sales of crossover SUVs and pickup trucks.
• UPS guided for higher 2026 revenue as it reduces low-margin deliveries for Amazon and pivots toward higher-paying shipments.
• JetBlue reported wider-than-expected quarterly losses despite slightly beating revenue forecasts.
• UnitedHealth posted weaker earnings, weighed by elevated medical costs and uncertainty over Medicare Advantage reimbursement.

With the Fed’s decision imminent and Big Tech earnings on deck, markets remain finely balanced between optimism over corporate resilience and caution over the policy outlook.