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Wall Street Pauses as Fed Meeting Looms: Futures Hold Steady

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited the start of the Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures all hovered near flat, reflecting a cautious mood across Wall Street. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but traders are focused on Chair Jerome Powell’s comments and the central bank’s updated economic projections. Markets are looking for clues on when rate cuts might begin in 2024, with inflation cooling but still above the Fed’s long-term target. Recent gains in equities have been fueled by optimism that the Fed’s tightening cycle is over, yet uncertainty remains about how quickly monetary policy will shift toward easing. Until then, investors appear content to hold their positions, waiting for clearer signals from the Fed before making bold moves.
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Stock Market News: Weekly Recap



The stock market ended the week on a positive note, as major indexes edged higher on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. The gains came after a week of solid earnings reports and economic data, which boosted investor confidence and optimism.

Some of the highlights of the week included:

- The third-quarter GDP report showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 6.2%, slightly below expectations but still robust.

- The Federal Reserve announced that it will start tapering its monthly bond purchases by $15 billion in November, signaling its confidence in the economic recovery and inflation outlook.

- The October jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs, beating expectations and marking the strongest monthly gain since July. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, the lowest level since March 2020.

- Several major companies reported strong earnings results, such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Tesla.

The stock market has been resilient in the face of various challenges, such as supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, rising inflation, and the spread of the delta variant. The S&P 500 is up about 24% year to date, and is on track for its sixth consecutive month of gains.

Looking ahead, investors will be watching for more earnings reports, as well as data on consumer confidence, inflation, retail sales, and industrial production. The market will also be paying attention to any developments on the infrastructure and social spending bills in Congress, as well as the global climate summit in Glasgow.

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