Stocks end sharply lower as investors await Fed decision

Stocks stumbled Tuesday, ending sharply lower and erasing the previous session’s gains as investors awaited a Federal Reserve rate decision that’s expected to deliver another jumbo increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.01%
fell around 313 points, or 1%, to end near 30,707, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500
SPX,
-1.13%
dropped 1.1% to finish near 3,856, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.95%
shed 1% to close near 11,425. The Fed is expected to raise the fed funds rate by 75 basis points when it concludes a two-day policy meeting Wednesday, with traders penciling in an outside chance of a 100 basis point move.