The S&P 500 was little changed Monday as investors looked toward the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision.
The broad index was near flat, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 26 points, or 0.1%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both ended the previous trading week in the red, marking their second straight week of losses. The Dow managed to end the week 0.1% higher.
West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude prices hit their highest levels since November on Monday. Up nearly 30% so far in the third quarter, WTI is on pace to see its biggest price gain since the first quarter of 2022.
Investors are widely anticipating that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at the policy meeting this week. Traders will try get a better sense of the central bank’s stance on inflation from here.
“How the Fed delivers the pause is crucial for November and December rate expectations, but whether it’s presented with a dovish or hawkish tilt is what matters most for financial markets,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.
Traders are assigning a 99% chance that the Fed stays put when it releases its rate decision on Wednesday and just a 31% probability of a hike in November, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which gauges pricing in the fed funds futures market.
Recent inflation data came largely in-line with economists’ expectations. While the producer price index gained more than expected, the core PPI, which excludes food and energy, matched the estimate. The core consumer price index also increased slightly higher than expected in August, rising 0.3% month-over-month, against the estimate of 0.2%.
