04:22 PM EDT, 03/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed lower on Tuesday led by a selloff in technology sector, while the Federal Reserve convened for its two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.7% to 17,504.1, while the S&P 500 decreased 1.1% to 5,614.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% to 41,581.3. All sectors excluding healthcare and energy were down.

US Treasury yields were lower with the 10-year rate losing about 2.1 basis points to 4.3% and the two-year rate was down 1.1 basis points to 4.04%.

May West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 1% to $66.71 a barrel Tuesday.

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.

In economic news, US housing starts beat expectations last month, with government data showing double-digit growth in both single- and multi-family projects, nearly erasing January's losses. 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.

In company news, Tesla (TSLA) shares closed 5.3% lower. Meta Platforms ( META ) , Microsoft ( MSFT ) , Amazon.com ( AMZN ) Google ( GOOG )-parent Alphabet (GOOG) also fell.

Dollar General ( DG ) shares were up 2%. The company is collaborating with DoorDash ( DASH ) to offer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefits Transfer payments to its store on DoorDash's ( DASH ) marketplace.

EQT (EQT) shares gained 1.7%. Stephens upgraded the company's stock to overweight from equalweight and raised its price target to $59 from $41. DoorDash ( DASH ) was down more than 2%.

Aditxt (ADTX) soared 71% after its acquisition target, Appili Therapeutics, submitted four new federal funding proposals totaling $117.5 million.

Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ) shares slumped 27% after a young patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy died of acute liver failure following treatment with the company's Elevidys gene therapy.

Gold gained 1.3% to $3,044.10 per troy ounce, while silver was up 1% to $34.64 per troy ounce.