US stocks near record highs as focus turns to Fed

Stocks opened lower Tuesday as the Federal Reserve prepares to kick off its two-day policy meeting.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell slightly on the heels of both indexes' new all-time closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJIA) was down 0.4%.

The major averages managed to rise slightly despite uncertainty about the economy and reduced expectations for rate cuts. Most investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates just once before the end of the year.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to announce its policy decision following a two-day meeting. Monthly inflation data will also be released on Wednesday, before the market opens.

Shares of Apple (AAPL) gained about 2% in early trading, reversing losses from the previous session that followed the iPhone maker's introduction of AI features at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday .

Cryptocurrency-related stocks opened lower on Tuesday as bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell to its lowest level in a week, trading just above $69,000 per token. Coinbase (COIN), Marathon Digital (MARA), and MicroStrategy (MSTR) were all down more than 3% in early trading.