Stocks slip ahead of Fed announcement; yields, dollar up slightly

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Most major stock indexes dipped, while the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Tuesday before a likely interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve but also possibly hawkish comments from policymakers.

Treasury yields and the dollar gained after the release of U.S. labor market data, which showed U.S. job openings increased modestly in October while hiring remained subdued.

The Fed is widely expected to announce on Wednesday a rate cut, but investors expect policymakers to remain divided.

Some policymakers have warned?that price pressures could easily pick up again, while others have been more concerned about the labor market's health.

"It's the quiet before the storm. We have a big Fed meeting tomorrow - a big catalyst," and so it is normal to have mild market moves right now, said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady as expected on Tuesday. More notably, however, it ruled out further policy easing and warned that rates could move higher if inflation pressures prove stubborn. The Australian dollar advanced 0.3% to US$0.6641.

The Bank of Canada and Swiss National Bank are both expected to hold rates steady when they meet on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Investors also digested news that Washington will allow Nvidia's H200 processors, its second-best artificial intelligence chips, to be exported to China, collecting a 25% fee on such sales. Shares of Nvidia were down 0.3%.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase fell?4.7%. JPMorgan Chase's consumer and community banking chief Marianne Lake said the bank expects expenses to climb to about $105 billion in 2026.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 179.03 points, or 0.38%, to 47,560.29, the S&P 500 fell 6.00 points, or 0.09%, to 6,840.51 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 30.58 points, or 0.13%, to 23,576.49.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 1.60 points, or 0.16%, to 1,006.44.The pan-European STOXX 600 index eased 0.1%.

OUTLOOK FOR RATES

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.15% to 99.22.

Investors are also thinking about the outlook for rates in 2026, not just with the Fed but outside the United States.?"A hawkish repricing is rolling across curves elsewhere - rate hikes are getting priced in for Australia, Canada, and the euro zone?in 2026 - so the dollar could come under pressure if (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell fails to out-hawk markets," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist, at Corpay in Toronto.

In the Treasury market, the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose 1.4 basis points to 4.186% after hitting a session low of 4.141% and was on pace for its first four-session streak of gains in five weeks.

Oil prices fell as investors focused on Russia and Ukraine peace talks. Brent crude futures fell 55 cents, or 0.88%, to settle at $61.94 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 63 cents, or 1.07%, to $58.25.

Also in the foreign exchange market, the yen was softer. It weakened?immediately in the wake of a powerful earthquake that rocked Japan on Monday.?