US markets end lower amid mixed views of Fed

31 Dec 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as traders stayed away from any risky bets in initial part of the session ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest monetary policy meeting. However, trading activity remained subdued after the release of the minutes, which reiterated officials' mixed views about the outlook for interest rates. The minutes revealed participants expressed a range of views about the restrictiveness of the Fed's current monetary policy stance. Most participants judged that further rate cuts would likely be appropriate if inflation declined over time as expected. Meanwhile, the Fed noted some participants felt it would likely be appropriate to keep rates unchanged for some time following the quarter point rate cut at the December meeting. The Fed's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for January 27-28.

On the sectoral front, significant weakness has been seen in biotechnology stocks with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index falling by 1.5 percent. On the other hand, telecom stocks saw notable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 1.1 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 94.87 points or 0.20 percent to 48,367.06, Nasdaq slipped 55.27 points or 0.24 percent to 23,419.08 and S&P 500 edged down 9.50 points or 0.14 percent to 6,896.24.

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