US Fed expected to hike rates; focus to shift to policy statement, new forecasts

US stocks fell last week as China reported the first major casualties in the trade war and a preliminary Brexit deal collapsed.

Strategists said that the US Federal Reserve might yet save investors in domestic stocks from a red Christmas as it releases its latest policy statement this Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was modestly higher on the week until reports last Friday that Chinese retail sales had grown by the slimmest margin in 15 years. That caused a nearly 500-point sell-off in the blue-chip index, which dragged it into correction territory and into negative territory on the year.

Still, the year-long …