Stocks pared some of their earlier losses on Tuesday, though the major benchmarks still logged another disappointing session. The Dow shed 106 points, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq finished deeper in the red, with Tesla (TSLA) weighing on the latter. Dismal inflation data also fueled investor pessimism, with the November producer price index (PPI) growing at its fastest pace on record. All eyes remain on the Federal Reserve, which will wrap up its two-day meeting tomorrow, and provide quarterly economy, inflation, and interest rate projections.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 35,544.18) fell 106.8 points or 0.3% for the day. Travelers (TRV) led the gainers, adding 2.3%, while Salesforce.com (CRM) paced the laggards with a 3.8% fall.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,634.09) shed 34.9 points or 0.8% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 15,237.64) shaved 175.6 points or 1.1% for the day.

Lastly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 21.89) added 1.6 points or 7.8% for the day.

Gold Snaps Win Streak as Investors Eye Fed Decision

Oil prices closed at their lowest level in more than a week on Tuesday. Contributing to today's drop was investor pessimism after a hot inflation reading, the reimplementation of stricter Covid-19 restrictions, and a dismal International Energy Agency (IEA) report. As a result, January-dated crude fell 56 cents, or 0.8%, to finish at $70.73 per barrel.

Gold prices settled lower as well, snapping a two-day win streak while also logging their worst close in almost two weeks. Investors are holding their breath as they await for the conclusion of the Fed's two-day meeting tomorrow, which could negatively impact the precious metal. In response, February-dated gold shed $16, or 0.9%, to close at $1,772.30 per ounce.