Wall Street Stutters Amid Fed Policy Silence and Market Uncertainty

Wall Street's primary indexes experienced a decline on Thursday following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's silence on new policy directions, which left investors relying on outdated data to decipher market signals.

The lack of fresh cues has led markets to anticipate aggressive interest rate cuts, although minutes from the central bank's September meeting released on Wednesday highlighted ongoing inflation worries. Investors are also keenly observing comments from other Fed officials, such as Board Governor Michael Barr and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly.

Market anxieties are further fueled by Tesla facing a new investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its Full Self-Driving system, adding pressure to equities like the Nasdaq. Elsewhere, the airline sector showed robust performance, buoyed by a positive outlook from Delta Air Lines, whereas lithium producer Albemarle saw gains due to China's tightened export controls on rare earths.