The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after ending the previous session mostly lower.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following yesterday’s weakness, which saw the Dow close lower for the ninth consecutive session.

The blue chip index matched its longest losing streak since 1978, slumping to its lowest closing level in almost a month.

Early trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement this afternoon.

The Fed is widely expected to continue lowering interest rates, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 98.8 percent chance of another quarter point rate cut.

Traders are subsequently likely to pay closer attention to the accompanying statement as well as officials’ latest economic projections, including their forecasts for rates.

Recent data showing inflation remains sticky has led to some worries the Fed will lower rates slower than previously anticipated next year.

After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks saw continued weakness throughout the trading day on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back off Monday’s record closing high, while the Dow closed lower for the ninth straight session for the first time since 1978.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Dow slid 267.58 points or 0.6 percent to 43,449.90, the Nasdaq dipped 64.83 points or 0.3 percent to 20,109.06 and the S&P 500 fell 23.47 points or 0.4 percent to 6,050.61.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected a pullback by technology stocks, which helped lead the way higher in the previous session.

Networking stocks showed a significant pullback, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index tumbling by 2.2 percent after surging to a record closing high on Monday.

Considerable weakness is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) gave back ground following a recent spike, while shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw further downside after entering contraction territory on Monday.

Outside the tech sector, financial stocks saw notable weakness, dragging both the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index down by 1.5 percent.

Telecom, housing and steel stocks also moved to the downside, while pharmaceutical stocks bucked the downtrend amid a surge by shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Pfizer shot up by 4.7 percent after forecasting 2025 revenues in line with estimates.

Meanwhile, traders continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

Potentially adding to the concerns about the outlook for rates, the Commerce Department released a report showing stronger than expected retail sales growth in the month of November.

“This report will likely add to the Fed’s debate about the policy path for 2025,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. “Unless the labor market materially weakens, investors should expect the Fed to ease rates next year but not as much as originally hoped.”

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