The Dow's win streak is at risk as US stocks drop ahead of expected Fed rate hike

• US stocks fell on Wednesday as investors prepare for another interest rate hike from the Fed.
• Wednesday's decline could end the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 12-day win streak.
• Investors will be looking for clues from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell as to whether this is the last hike.

US stocks declined on Wednesday as investors prepare for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and press conference led by Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Fed is expected to lift rates by 25 basis points after pausing at last month's meeting. The CME FedWatch Tool shows a 99% chance of a rate hike later today. Investors will look for guidance from Powell as to whether this will be the last increase of the cycle, or if more are likely later this year.

"While the CPI has cooled off to 3% on July 12th, we are still [above] the Fed's target level of 2%. This leads us to believe that the FOMC will continue to target optionality at each upcoming meeting based on where economic data prints in the coming weeks and months," Clear Street's director of repo trading Victor Masotti told Insider.

Wednesday's decline threatens the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 12-day win streak, its longest since February 2017.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,561.97, down 0.12%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,353.41, down 0.24% (84.66 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,119.45, down 0.18%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• Earnings season is heating up. Of the 132 S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter results so far, 77% beat profit estimates by a median of 6%, while 64% beat revenue estimates by a median of 3%, according to data from Fundstrat.
• Cardboard box sales have seen the biggest contraction since the Great Recession of 2008. Packaging Corp. of America just reported a 10% slump in second-quarter shipments.
• Prepare for stocks to plunge, a recession to hit, and the US dollar to falter, Interactive Brokers' founder Thomas Peterffy warned.
• Traders are betting against American Airlines, Ralph Lauren, and cruise line companies as the thought of a potential recession continues to linger.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.19% to $78.68 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 1.11% to $82.71.
• Gold rose 0.35% to $1,970.70 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 3 basis points to 3.86%.
• Bitcoin rose 0.06% to $29,244, while ether fell 0.08% to $1,856.