02:23 PM EDT, 03/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell intraday Tuesday, weighed down by a selloff in technology stocks including Tesla (TSLA), as the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting got underway.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6% to 17,529.7. The S&P 500 slid 1% to 5,619, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% to 41,604.1. All sectors declined, led by communication services, consumer discretionary and technology.

Tesla's shares declined 6% intraday, taking its year-to-date loss to nearly 45%. Meta Platforms ( META ) , Microsoft ( MSFT ) , Amazon.com ( AMZN ) Google ( GOOG )-parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) were also down through afternoon trade.

Oppenheimer cut its 2025 targets for Tesla deliveries, revenue and earnings per share on Tuesday amid souring consumer sentiment.

Alphabet's Google ( GOOG ) agreed to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz in an all-cash deal worth $32 billion in a cloud security play.

US Treasury yields fell intraday, with the two-year rate down 2.4 basis points to 4.03% and the 10-year yield 2.9 basis points lower at 4.28%.

Meanwhile, the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting started Tuesday. The markets widely expect the FOMC to leave interest rates unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Policymakers are also scheduled to outline their latest economic projections Wednesday, including the future trajectory of interest rates.

"We do not expect major changes to the FOMC's median economic projections, but the changes that we do expect are in a pessimistic direction," HSBC said in a Monday note.

In economic news, US housing starts jumped more than expected last month as single- and multi-family projects logged double-digit growth, government data showed Tuesday. While homebuilding almost completely offset January's slump, TD Economics Senior Economist Andrew Hencic said significant uncertainty remains.

"From our lens, the general economic uncertainty and increasingly downbeat consumer sentiment mean that the housing sector is likely to drag on overall growth in the coming months," Hencic said.

Industrial production rose by a more-than-expected 0.7% in February, driven by gains in durable goods manufacturing thanks to increased motor vehicle output.

"While the February numbers will require an upgrade to the near-term forecast, the drivers of last month's upside surprise are unlikely to sustain the same strength into the coming months," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Bernard Yaros said in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $66.90 per barrel by Tuesday afternoon.

Gold was up 1.1% to $3,040.2 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1.2% to $34.74 per ounce.

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