By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell for the third-straight day ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting to decide the next step on interest rates.
At 9:43 ET (13:43 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 115 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.3%.
Most expect the Fed will raise its benchmark rate by a 0.75 percentage point, as it also did in June and July, while there are some who see the possibility of an even bigger full-point increase. Investors have worried in recent days that the Fed’s aggressive actions to cool inflation will tip the economy into a recession.
Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have said they will fight with whatever it takes to tame inflation even if that causes pain in the economy. On Wednesday, Powell will hold a press conference after the Fed makes its rate announcement.
Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) fell 2.8% after a report about a hack that ended up putting parts of its new Grand Theft Auto IV video game on the internet.
AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) share rose 0.7% after it reported better than expected revenue and profit, as the auto parts retailer’s same store sales rose 6% from last year.
Oil fell, with both benchmarks below $90. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 2%, to $82.81 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude fell 1.9%, to $89.56 a barrel. Gold Futures also fell 0.5%, to $1675 an ounce.