S&P 500 futures were little changed Monday morning as investors await the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated policy meeting, during which central bankers are expected to cut rates for the first time since 2020. Meanwhile, a pullback in tech giant Apple weighed on Nasdaq futures. Futures tied to the broad market index slipped around 0.1%, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97 points, or 0.2%. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.5%. Apple shares declined more than 2% in early trading after analysts at firms, including Bank of America and JPMorgan, noted that shipping times could point to lighter demand for iPhone 16 Pro models than the prior year. The S&P 500 is less than 1% away from its July record and could notch a new all-time high this week. After a rough start to a historically weak September, the three major U.S. indexes ended last week’s trading session in the green, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite just closing their best week of 2024. The Fed is set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and are widely anticipated to make their first interest rate cut since they began hiking rates in March 2022. A cut this week would be a pivotal move, as many investors hope the decision could lower borrowing costs for companies and improve overall earnings growth — boosting economic growth. The overnight lending rate is currently at 5.25% to 5.5%. Traders are split on whether the central bank will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points, per the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Stocks typically post strong gains during cycles where initial rate cuts are able to sustain economic expansion, BMO Capital chief investment strategist Brian Belski said. “So long as nothing breaks in the economy, U.S. stocks remain firmly within a bull market, but with significantly strong trailing one-year performance headed into this initial rate cut, future gains are likely to be more muted relative to historical norms, in our view,” he said in a Friday note ahead. U.S. Treasury yields were flat Monday as investors looked ahead to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and interest rate decision. At 8:54 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by less than 1 basis point at 3.655%. The 2-year Treasury yield slipped around 2 basis points at 3.557%. Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Monday, as investors parsed through economic data from China and awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy move. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.13% as of its final hour of trading, reversing course in a choppy session. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.27% to close at 8,122.60. The Taiwan Weighted Index added 0.42% to end at 21,850.08. Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for Mid-Autumn festival. Japan markets were closed for Respect for the Aged Day. Oil prices edged higher on Monday as ongoing disruption to U.S. Gulf oil infrastructure balanced persistent demand concerns after a fresh round of Chinese data while investors await a likely cut to U.S. interest rates this week. Brent crude futures for November were up 46 cents, or 0.64%, at $72.07 a barrel. U.S. crude futures for October rose 52 cents, or 0.76%, to $69.17. The market is likely to remain cautious until the Federal Reserve makes its interest rate decision on Wednesday, said Phillip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva, adding that prices are still supported by some supply worries given that some capacity remains offline in the Gulf of Mexico. Gold prices charged to a record high on Monday as a weaker dollar and the prospects of aggressive U.S. monetary policy easing boosted non-yielding bullion’s appeal. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,586.04 an ounce by 0914 GMT after touching a record peak of $2,589.59. U.S. gold futures edged up by 0.1% to $2,613.40. The dollar index eased 0.4%, making gold more attractive to other currency holders.