US markets fall ahead of Fed rate decision, extend yesterday’s loss; S&P falls 0.23%

The US markets traded lower on May 1 as investors await the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy rate decision  and press conference later in the day. The S&P 500 was down 0.23 percent at 5,023.88. Today’s fall comes after the benchmark S&P 500 tumbled 1.6 percent in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite traded flat-to-negative at 15,647.32. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher as companies such as Amazon reported stronger than expected earnings. The index was up 0.17 percent at 37,880.99.

The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on the interest rates later today. Investors widely expect the interest rates to be kept steady, according to reports from the fed funds futures pricing data.

The GIFT Nifty edged 0.31 percent higher to 22,688.00.

Most of the European markets remained close on Wednesday on the account of Labor Day. While DAX & CAC remained closed, the FTSE was down 0.29 percent at 8,120.57.

Earlier during the day, the Asian markets traded mixed owing to weak global cues. The Nikkei was down 0.34 percent at 38,274.05 while the Hang Seng ended flat-to-positive at 17,763.03.

The Indian indices remained closed due to labor day.

Crude continued its decline for another day amid prospects of a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East. WTI Crude tumbled 1.88 percent to $80.39 and the Brent also fell 1.80 percent to $84.78.