Wall Street dips as Fed meeting looms

Business Sep 17, 2025

After hitting new highs, Wall Street's main indexes took a step back on Tuesday.
The Dow dropped 120 points, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended marginally below the flat line.
Investors are now holding their breath for the Federal Reserve's big policy update—everyone's wondering if a rate cut is coming and what Chair Jerome Powell will say next.

Retail sales data adds to rate cut debate

August retail sales beat expectations, rising 0.6% instead of the predicted 0.2%.
Even without car sales, numbers were up by 0.7%.
Some experts think this might be more about inflation than people actually spending more cash.
With markets still pricey and growth strong—even as inflation stays high and jobs lag—the Fed faces a tough call on whether to cut rates now or wait it out.