MARKET SNAPSHOT
Major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision Wednesday. Treasury yields edged higher ahead of an anticipated rate cut. Oil futures fell for a second consecutive session. Gold prices rose, and silver hit a new record high. The U.S. dollar strengthened.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
The major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both edging lower and the Nasdaq Composite closing modestly higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 declined 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was weighed down by a sharp drop in JPMorgan Chase shares.
The bank's stock slid 4.7% after one of its executives said that expenses next year could come in higher than expected, about 9% above 2025 levels.
Nvidia shares slipped 0.3% after President Trump said he will let the company export H200 chips to China, with the U.S. taking a 25% cut. The chips are more powerful than the H20 product Nvidia was previously allowed to sell, but aren't its top model.
Investors and Federal Reserve policy makers got a last look at the labor market ahead of the central bank's Wednesday interest-rate decision. Job openings stood at about 7.7 million in both September and October, delayed data showed, with both readings above consensus forecasts.
Investors think the Fed is highly likely to cut rates at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday, CME data shows. But they have grown less confident about cuts next year, partly due to cautious comments by Kevin Hassett, the favorite to be the next Fed chair.
Earlier Tuesday, markets in Asia ended mixed.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4%, the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.5%, and the ChiNext Price Index rose 0.6%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.3%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.1%.
Stocks in Australia slipped, as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index fell 0.4%.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 0.2%.
COMMODITIES
Oil futures posted back-to-back losses with the market focused on efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which if successful could affect supply-demand balances that are already seen loosening in the coming year.
"Much of the current discussion still revolves around short-term volatility and potential risk of geopolitics, yet the deeper signals are becoming harder to overlook," Ahmad Assiri of Pepperstone said. "The coming year looks set to be one where physical fundamentals nudge the market toward a repricing of expectations."
WTI settled down 1.1% at $58.25 a barrel, and Brent fell 0.9% to $61.94.
Front-month Comex gold for December delivery gained 0.5% to $4206.70 a troy ounce - up for 10 of the past 12 sessions.
Silver prices rallied to new highs on Tuesday, powered by confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week and fears of a global supply squeeze.
Front-month Comex silver for December delivery rose 4.1% to $60.169.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Kevin Hassett Says He Wouldn't Bow to Pressure Over Cutting Interest Rates
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett says he would rely on his own judgment and not bow to political pressure to decide whether to cut interest rates if he becomes the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Hassett said, however, that there is "plenty of room" to cut rates in the months ahead, aligning himself with President Trump's repeated calls for lower borrowing costs. "If the data suggests that we could do it, then-like right now-I think there's plenty of room to do it," he said during a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event on Tuesday. Pressed over whether that meant the Fed could cut rates by more than the quarter-point that is currently expected on Wednesday, Hassett said, "Correct."
Trump has frequently attacked the current chairman, Jerome Powell, over what he views as a current reluctance to cut rates. Trump has hinted at wanting to fire Powell throughout his second term but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has argued against such a move.
Layoffs Ticked Up in a Mostly Steady Job Market, Labor Turnover Report Suggests
Layoffs crept higher in recent months, but the job market remained fundamentally steady since the summer, the Labor Department reported Tuesday in its monthly survey of job openings and labor turnover.
In October, the rate of layoffs ticked up to 1.2%, versus 1.1% in August, the most recent figures that had been available before the government shutdown postponed stats reports starting in early October. September's layoff rate was also 1.1%.
Yet the JOLTS report brought other signals that the job market hasn't dramatically changed since the summer. The rate of hiring held steady at 3.2% from August, and, in a positive sign, the number of job openings in the economy increased by more than 400,000 over the two-month span.
U.S. Leading Indicators Point to Economic Slowdown in 2026
The U.S. economy is expected to slow in 2026 amid a downturn in optimism among households and businesses, according to a basket of monthly economic indicators.
The Leading Economic Index, or LEI, published Tuesday by research group The Conference Board, fell 0.3% to 98.3 in September, after a similar 0.3% decrease in August.
"Weakening expectations from consumers and businesses led the overall contraction in the index," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager for business-cycle indicators at The Conference Board.
JPMorgan Stock Sinks on Higher Expense Outlook. Other Banks May Have to Keep Up.
A top JPMorgan Chase executive said firmwide expenses would rise in 2026 thanks in large part to investing in growth initiatives and, to a lesser degree, the effects of inflation. The outlook sent the bank's shares down 4.7% on Tuesday.
Marianne Lake, CEO of JPMorgan's consumer and community bank, told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference that she now expects 2026 expenses of $105 billion. That is 3.6% higher than Wall Street's estimates and 9% higher than expectations for full-year expenses in 2025, according to data compiled by FactSet.
Lake sought to reassure investors at the financial services conference by noting that the biggest driver of higher expenses is "high-quality" costs, reflecting growth investments.
Nvidia AI Chips to Undergo Unusual U.S. Security Review Before Export to China
The artificial-intelligence chips that Nvidia is allowed to ship to China will undergo a special security review in the U.S. before they are exported, according to administration officials.
The unorthodox step highlights the national-security pressure on the Trump administration following its decision to allow the controversial sales.
Nvidia's H200 AI chips that are part of the deal would mainly be manufactured in Taiwan. From there, they would travel to the U.S. for a national-security review, people familiar with the matter said. The chips would then be sent on to China.
Exxon Mobil Sees Higher Earnings, Greater Returns in New 2030 Plan
Exxon Mobil expects higher earnings and cash flow through the end of the decade, driven by stronger assets, a more profitable business mix, and lower costs from its multiyear transformation.
The energy-and-petrochemical company on Tuesday raised its outlook to $25 billion in earnings growth and $35 billion in cash flow growth from 2024 to 2030, a $5 billion improvement in both metrics compared with its prior forecasts.
Earnings growth is projected to average 13% per year through 2030, with double-digit cash-flow growth, while share repurchases are expected to drive per-share growth higher, the company said.
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
00:00/AUS: Nov Vacancy Report
01:00/PHI: Oct Labour Force Survey
01:30/CHN: Nov CPI
01:30/CHN: Nov PPI
03:00/SKA: Nov Economic Trends, including household loans, money supply index Lf
04:00/MAL: Oct Labour Force Statistics
21:45/NZ: 3Q Business Financial Data
23:50/JPN: 4Q Business Outlook Survey
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 09, 2025 16:52 ET (21:52 GMT)
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