U.S. stocks moved lower on Tuesday as investors prepare for Apple’s earnings report and the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision scheduled for Wednesday. The S&P 500 index fell 5.29 points, or 0.26%, to trade at 2,065.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 41.62 points, or 0.24%, to trade at 17,581.43. The Nasdaq composite shed 4.56 points, or 0.09%, to trade at 5,030.15. More factors weighing down on the market include a number of disappointing economic data releases and declining energy prices. Recently released reports have shown that manufacturing and consumer confidence have fallen below previous expectations, causing some analysts to forecast no changes to the Federal Reserve’s current interest rate. Energy-related stocks led the declines due to tumbling oil prices. Crude oil moved 2.5% lower to trade at $42.9 a barrel. Investors are on Edge as the Federal Reserve moved forward with its two-day meeting scheduled to end late on Wednesday. The central bank will discuss the possibility of raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Although most agree that a rate hike is highly unlikely, investors will comb through all released statements in an effort to gain insight into the timing of a policy change. Wall Street has enjoyed a lot of momentum thanks to the Fed’s near-zero interest rate policy, at least partially explaining some of the decline seen in the last two days.
European stocks also moved lower, continuing yesterday’s declines as the markets face falling energy prices and mixed earnings reports. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 ended 1.07% lower at 371.88 after Monday’s 0.4% decline. The energy and basic materials sector moved 2.37% and 3.05% lower, respectively. European oil shares moved lower after crude oil moved below $43 a barrel. In the energy sector, oil producer OMV AG (VIE:OMVV) fell 5.34%. Tullow Oil (L:TLW) declined 4.7% and the Spanish Repsol (MC:REP) tumbled 3.9%. BP (L:BP) moved 1.14% lower after enjoying an initial gain after the release of a better-than-expected earnings report. However, declining oil prices have forced BP to readjust its expectations for the rest of the year. As a result, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.81% to 6,365.27. UK shares were failed to rebound after early estimates for third quarter growth came in below previous expectations. The German DAX 30 declined 1.01% to trade at 10,692.19 while France’s CAC 40 declined 1.02% to trade at 4,847.07.
The week’s main economic event is tomorrow’s conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). While a rate hike isn’t expected, traders will be looking to find out if a December hike is likely. German employment and U.S. GDP data will be released on Thursday, followed by Japanese inflation, employment and interest rate decisions.