This is CNBC’s live blog covering the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference.
[The stream is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis point, cut to its overnight lending rate when the policymakers issue their decision at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. That reduction would bring the benchmark rate to a targeted range of between 3.50% to 3.75%.
While traders feel fairly certain of that outcome, there are other key items to watch that are far less predictable, including what might be ahead for next year. The rate-setting FOMC is split between members who favor cuts to head off further weakness in the labor market and those who think easing has gone far enough and threatens to aggravate inflation.
On top of that, inflation worries persist.
