From our US team:
US stocks fell across the board on Tuesday, with the Dow logging its biggest losing streak in 46 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) finished the session down roughly 0.6%, registering its ninth straight day of losses. The last nine-day losing streak for the Dow was in February 1978. Prior to that, the index suffered an 11-day losing streak in 1974 and another in 1971.
The other major indexes dropped in tandem on Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) falling around 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) losing about 0.3% after the tech-heavy index closed at a record high on Monday.
Fed policymakers kicked off their final gathering of the year earlier in the trading day, amid almost total conviction that a 0.25% rate cut is coming on Wednesday. Some on Wall Street suspect it could be the last cut for some time, as inflation proves persistent. Given that, the focus is on clues to the path of rates next year — and in January, in particular.