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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 14, 2025, at the opening bell.
Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty Images
Stock futures hovered below the flatline Tuesday night as the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision looms.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 49 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each shed about 0.1%.
Investors are coming off of a rough Tuesday, which saw the recent market sell-off come back in full force after two winning sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, while the S&P 500 shed more than 1%. The broad market index ended the day off 8.6% from its February record close, and it's now nearing correction territory. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.7% as shares of technology darlings Tesla, Palantir and Nvidia each fell.
The major averages have been on a roller-coaster ride in recent weeks, as traders navigate soft economic data and uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policy. The S&P 500 officially entered correction territory last week, ending Tuesday 8.6% below its record close reached in February, and the Nasdaq is still in a correction.
Investors are preparing for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday – another possible catalyst for markets.
Though the Fed is widely expected to maintain a steady hand on interest rates, traders are keeping a close eye on the central bank's outlook for the rate policy path. Policymakers will be sharing their quarterly updates on rate expectations, gross domestic product, inflation and unemployment, and those insights arrive at a time when traders are shaky on what's ahead for the U.S. economy and the impact on markets.
"Fed Chair Powell has repeatedly said that the risks to price stability and full employment are balanced," said Scott Helfstein, Global X's head of investment strategy. "That is likely still true, but risks to both are rising. This is not time to sell and go away, but perhaps time to review long-term strategy against near-term volatility."
Gilead Sciences, Healthequity shares decline after close
Gilead Sciences and Healthequity were among the biggest losers in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
- Shares of Gilead Sciences declined about 2.7% on a Wall Street Journal report that the Health and Human Services Department is considering plans to significantly cut the federal government's funding for domestic HIV prevention. That could impact Gilead's business, as the drugmaker sells medicines for HIV and AIDS.
- Healthequity's stock price plunged 12.5% on the back of its fourth-quarter earnings disappointment. The company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of 69 cents on revenue of $311.8 million, while analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 72 cents per share on revenue of $305.8 million.
— Pia Singh
Meta Platforms finally falls into negative territory for 2025
Meta Platforms' 3.7% decline on Tuesday pulled the Facebook parent's shares into negative territory year to date.
Meta is now down 0.5% in 2025, making it the last member of the Magnificent Seven to end up in negative territory for the year.
Meta Platforms in 2025
It has been a rough few months for last year's Big Tech high-flyers.
Investors' anxiety around the U.S. economy and President Donald Trump's approach to tariff policy has led to flight to safety in the markets, with investors fleeing from the tech sector and flocking toward defensive corners of the market, like health care and energy.
To that end, fellow Mag Seven stock Tesla is off 44% in 2025, while artificial intelligence play Nvidia is down 14% in the period.
—Adrian van Hauwermeiren, Darla Mercado
English (US)