Stock market indexes on Wall Street eased in Tuesday's trading as investors debated future interest rate paths and levels. 

The S&P 500 index declined 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% ahead of the Fed's interest rate decisions and rate outlook tomorrow. 

The Nasdaq Composite closed at a new record high, and the S&P 500 index hovered near the high set last week. 

Investors are anticipating the Federal Reserve to cut the fed funds rate by 25 basis points and announce fewer rate cuts in 2025 amid resurgent inflation, President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs, and policy uncertainties. 

Over the last three weeks, Wall Street enthusiasm has been waning as fewer stocks participate in the upswing and investors factor in the negative impact of higher tariffs, elevated budget deficits, and the rising level of federal government debt. 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.4% to 6,057.03, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 20,043.18, and the Russell 2000 index declined by 0.1% to 2,331.08. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.29%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.43%, and 30-year Treasury bonds increased to 4.62%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.71 to $69.81 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged up 3 cents to $3.23 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $8.77 to $2,642.78 an ounce, and silver fell by $0.20 to $30.31. 

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged higher by 0.12 to 106.99.

U.S. Stock Movers 

Palo Alto Networks edged down 0.5% to $201.52 after the cybersecurity company's stock split two-for-one. 

Broadcom Inc. declined 0.6% to $248.87 and eased from a jump of more than 30% in the previous week's trading after the company announced a sharp rise in sales in its artificial intelligence-linked chips and products. 

SolarEdge Technologies soared 14% to $14.26 after Goldman Sachs revised its opinion to "buy" from "sell," citing the company's turnaround in 2025. 

Pfizer Inc. gained 2.9% to $25.25 after the pharmaceutical company reiterated its 2025 earnings, and the company plans to sell its non-core business and repay its debt following the decline in Covid-19 products. 

Coinbase Global Inc. advanced 1.1% to $318.83, and MicroStrategy gained 1.1% to $413.63, and crypto-linked stocks continued to extend their 2024 rally following the rise in price of bitcoin to $07,000. 

EVgo plunged 23.5% to $4.83 after the company announced an affiliate of LS Power Equity Partners sold 23 million shares at $5.0 per share, 20% lower than the last closing price on Monday. 

The company also announced the closing of a $1.25 billion guaranteed loan facility from the U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday, initially announced on October 2. 

Red Cat Holdings plunged 14.7% to $8.91, and the stock gave back some of the 27% advance in the previous session after the drone maker announced a partnership with Palantir.