LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street lets off a little steam with Fed in focus

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WALL STREET LETS OFF A LITTLE STEAM WITH FED IN FOCUS

With the wait almost over for the Federal Reserve's next policy decision, the Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI lost most ground on Wall Street in Tuesday's session while the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC edged lower after both indexes had boasted record closing highs on Monday.

The Fed is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point rate cut on Wednesday but investors will be monitoring closely for any clues about its future plans for rates and its views on the economy in its prepared statement and when Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes questions after the announcement.

In the Dow, the biggest percentage decliner was UnitedHealth Group UNH.N, which fell 2.3% in its third straight day of declines. Microsoft was the second biggest loser, falling 1.2%. The software giant was out discussing its AI investments on Tuesday, with its president Brad Smith telling reporters it would invest over $30 billion in the UK over the next four years.

Big AI names, Nvidia NVDA.O, Microsoft and Broadcom AVGO.O were the top drags on the S&P 500. Still, even with Nvidia and Broadcom's losses, the Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX still managed to end up 0.3% for its ninth straight day of gains.

Among the benchmark index's 11 major sector indexes, energy .SPNY was the biggest gainer, closing up 1.7% after crude oil futures settled up 1.9% on the day. Rate sensitive utilities .SPLRCU was the biggest loser, ending down 1.8%.

Here is your closing snapshot:

(Sinéad Carew)

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