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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) sagged on Tuesday, declining around 100 points as equities grapple with holiday-constrained market flows and low end-of-year trading volumes. Moderate gains in energy sector stocks were offset by softness in the healthcare and financial services sectors.

Stocks split down the middle, Dow eases
 

The Dow Jones softened by around 100 points, struggling to keep a hold of the 48,400 level, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both held close to flat, splitting the middle on gainers and losers for the day. Boeing (BA) climbed 1.75% after winning a government contract to build and supply more F-15 fighter jets to Israel, and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) gained 0.75%. Goldman Sachs (GS) fell 1.2% on Tuesday, serving as a general bellwether for year-end risk appetite and throwing some caution signs for traders dabbling in low-volume trading, while biopharma giant Amgen (AMGN) fell a similar 1% on the day.

The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) latest Meeting Minutes from its last interest rate decision of the year will be released on Tuesday, and will give markets one last glimpse into the Fed’s internal policy discussions for 2025. The Fed’s last rate call, which saw the largest dissension among Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) votes in six years, pushed a third straight interest rate cut onto markets. Rate traders now expect the Fed to stand pat until April.

Trump still wants to get rid of Powell early
 

US President Donald Trump has resumed his administrative policy approach of launching tirades against outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. During a meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump reiterated his stance that Fed Chair Powell is a “fool” and threatened to sue the head of the Fed for “gross incompetence”, mainly for not reducing interest rates as fast as Trump would personally like. Donald Trump tapped Jerome Powell as head of the Fed during his first term.

Dow Jones daily chart
 

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