Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 15, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks were mixed Wednesday as traders prepared for a much-anticipated monetary policy decision and an even more important policy outlook from the Federal Reserve.
The traded just 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, climbing 158 points, or 0.3%.
Nvidia shares dipped more than 1% after The Financial Times reported, citing sources, that China has banned tech companies in the country from buying Nvidia's chips.
Traders almost universally expect the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates on Wednesday, a move that could boost the U.S. economy amid signs the labor market is slowing even as inflation stays stubbornly above the central bank's 2% target. Policymakers will also give more insight into their outlook for rates over the next year or so in the closely-watched "dot plot" grid that accompanies their quarterly Summary of Economic Projections.
Investors will also watch for any policy dissents from Fed policymakers after two such disagreements at the last meeting in July. Traders have priced in a 96% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points, or a quarter percentage point, and just 4% odds that the market will get a half point reduction Wednesday, per the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Paul McCulley, former chief economist at Pimco, told CNBC's "The Exchange" on Tuesday that a more conservative quarter-point rate cut is the most likely outcome.
"Quite frankly, I don't know how I would explain [a 50 basis point cut] in the current context without saying the labor market really is worrying me intensely, and I don't think that's the message that Chair Powell wants to communicate — at least not now," McCulley said.
Stocks are coming off of a lackluster trading session, where major U.S. indexes ended little changed.
Paul Singer's Elliott takes a $2 billion stake in Workday, shares up 9%
Paul Singer-founded Elliott Investment Management took a more than $2 billion stake in software company Workday, helping push the stock 9% higher on Wednesday.
"We are pleased with our dialogue with the team and believe the plan announced at today's Financial Analyst Day represents a significant enhancement of Workday's operating model and capital allocation framework," Elliott said in a statement. "We believe this multi-year plan will drive substantial long-term value creation for Workday shareholders, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the company."
Workday alsoannounced an additional $4 billion to its repurchase program, according to a regulatory filing released Tuesday evening.
— Yun Li
Stocks open little changed to kick off Wednesday trading
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, thewas 0.1% higher, while the tech-heavyNasdaq Compositedipped less than 0.1%. TheDow Jones Industrial Averagegained 164 points, or about 0.4%.
— Pia Singh
Housing starts, building permits miss estimates in August
In an aerial view, homes are seen under construction at a new housing development on August 08, 2025 in Henderson, Nevada.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
In another dose of bad news for the housing market, building permits and new construction both were well below expectations in August.
Permits totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.31 million for the month, down 3.7% from the upwardly revised July rate and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 1.37 million.
On housing starts, the numbers were almost identical, at 1.307 million, down 8.5% from the slightly revised July level and also below the 1.37 million forecast.
Completions rose 8.4% from July but were off the same percentage from a year ago.
—Jeff Cox
Nvidia, Alibaba, Baidu among the names making moves before the bell
Some stocks, including Nvidia and Alibaba, are making moves in premarket trading Wednesday:
- Nvidia– The artificial intelligence chip darling dropped more than 1% after areport by The Financial Times, which cited three people with knowledge of the matter, said that China's internet regulator has banned the biggest tech companies in the country from buying Nvidia's AI chips. Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices also fell more than 1% in sympathy following the report.
- Alibaba– U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant gained 2.3% afterChinese state media reportedthat the company won a major customer, China Unicom, for its artificial intelligence chips.
- Baidu– The Chinese tech company surged nearly 8%. The move comes on the heels of Arete Research Servicesupgrading Baidu's American depositary receipts to buy from sell, citing a positive outlook for its AI chip and cloud-computing revenue.
Read here for the full list.
— Sean Conlon
Nvidia CEO responds to report on China ban
Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang spoke to journalists during a trip to Beijing in July.
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was asked at a news conference about The Financial Times report that noted China's internet regulator had barred Chinese tech firms from buying the semiconductor's products.
Huang said: "We can only be in service of a market if a country wants us to be."
As of 8:10 a.m. ET, Nvidia shares were down 1.2%.
— Fred Imbert
Alibaba shares jump after landing a major customer for its AI chips
U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba gained more than 2% before Wednesday's open after Chinese state media reported that the e-commerce giant secured a major customer for its artificial intelligence chips.
China Unicom—the country's second-largest telecommunications company—will deploy Alibaba's AI accelerators from its semiconductor unit called Pingtouge or T-Head, according to a report from China state broadcaster CCTV, which was confirmed to CNBC. Alibaba does not sell chips directly, but companies can effectively use the computing power based on those semiconductors by buying Alibaba cloud services. More here.
Alibaba stock performance over the past year.
— Pia Singh, Arjun Kharpal
China bans tech companies from buying Nvidia chips, FT reports
Nvidia logo and Chinese flag are seen in this illustration taken Aug. 27, 2025.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Nvidia shares were down around 1% in the premarket after The Financial Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, that China's internet regulator had barred tech companies in the country from buying the AI giant's chips. AMD followed Nvidia lower in early trading as well.
NVDA 5-day chart
— Fred Imbert
Cytokinetics' stock moves after hours
Cytokinetics' shares rose roughly 1% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, shortly after the biopharmaceutical company announced it plans to raise up to $650 million through an offering of convertible senior notes due in 2031.
— Liz Napolitano
Correction: A previous version misstated the size of the notes offering.
Societe Generale's Subadra Rajappa: "You could see an unwind" if Fed acts less dovish than market is pricing in
Stocks could fall if the Fed adopts a less dovish stance than expected over the coming months, Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates at Societe Generale, said Tuesday on CNBC's "Fast Money."
"You could see an unwind…if there's a sense that the Fed is not willing to act as aggressively as the market is pricing in," Rajappa said.
The Fed will provide more insight into its rate outlook this week when it releases its widely followed "dot plot" grid.
— Liz Napolitano
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures were little changed Tuesday night to start the session, as traders braced for the Fed's key policy announcement.
Contracts tied to the major averages hovered around the flatline after a session in which the S&P 500 hit an intraday high.
-- Fred Imbert
