Wall Street held its collective breath on Wednesday afternoon, awaiting the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's meeting on monetary policy. While interest rates are expected to remain unchanged, investors will parse the Fed's commentary for clues on the path of future hikes as the economy begins to show signs of recovery.
Data on Wednesday showed underlying US inflation rose more than expected in February, while the housing market continued to strengthen, bolstering the Fed's case that the economy was strong enough to withstand a gradual increase in rates.
Global markets were little changed, and the dollar rose, ahead of the Fed's statement, due at 2 pm ET (1800 GMT). Chair Janet Yellen is slated to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm.
"We are treading water," said Kim Forrest, research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. "Everyone's waiting for the language to come out from the Fed."
Economists polled by Reuters are looking at two possible rate hikes in 2016, but financial markets are pricing in only one hike of 25 basis points.
At 12:51 pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 25.92 points, or 0.15 percent, at 17,225.61, the S&P 500 was down 2.78 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,013.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.79 points, or 0.02 percent, at 4,729.46.
Five of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher. Gains in energy and financials were offset by losses in utilities and consumer staples sectors.
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