US Equity Indexes Drop After FOMC Minutes Reveal December Rate Cut was a Close Call

03:42 PM EST, 12/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell ahead of the close on Tuesday, after Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed that a decision to lower rates earlier this month was a close call.

The minutes revealed that several of the officials who voted to support a rate cut said that the decision was "finely balanced or that they could have supported keeping the target range unchanged."

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% to 23,443.1, with the S&P 500 down 0.05% to 6,902.1, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.1% to 48,392.

The consumer discretionary sector led the decliners, while energy and communication services led the gainers.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI print was 43.5 in December, up from 36.3 in the month prior, and higher than the 39.8 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

US house prices rose 0.4% in October, according to the US Federal Housing seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index, compared with a downwardly revised 0.1% decline in September.

In company news, Meta Platforms (META) said late Monday it acquired artificial intelligence startup Manus to expedite the rollout of general-purpose AI agents for consumers and businesses. The deal values Manus at over $2 billion, according to media reports. Meta shares were up 1.2% in recent trading.

Tesla (TSLA) said late Monday that analysts projected that the electric vehicle manufacturer made 422,850 deliveries in Q4, down from 495,570 a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expect 447,000 deliveries. Tesla shares fell 0.2% in recent trading.

Boeing (BA) has been awarded an $8.6 billion US military contract to build 25 fighter jets for Israel, the Pentagon said Monday. Boeing (BA) shares were up 1.2%.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield up 1.2 basis points to 4.128% and the two-year lower by 1.3 basis points to 3.452%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.2% to $57.95 a barrel.

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