S&P 500 Drops to 7,365 at Midday as Fed Decision Looms

As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on July 29, 2026.

MIDDAY
U.S. Markets
  • S&P 500-0.86%
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average-1.50%
  • Nasdaq Composite

Dow slides 1.5% as traders anticipate the Fed's rate decision this afternoon, wiping out early strength across equities.

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The S&P 500 shed 64 points, or about 0.9%, to trade at 7,365.14 by midday, giving back the prior session's close of 7,429.22. The decline was broadly felt across equities, erasing any early-session strength as attention shifted to the Federal Reserve's rate decision expected later in the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bore the steeper hit, sliding roughly 1.5% by the same point in the session. The intraday chart tells a clear story: both indexes drifted lower in a fairly steady pattern through the morning before settling into a range of losses that deepened as midday approached.

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The Fed's decision is the dominant variable traders are watching. Until that announcement arrives, positioning has leaned cautious, with sellers outpacing buyers across the broad market.