WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending yesterday's choppy trading session narrowly mixed, stocks are turning in another lackluster performance on Wednesday.
Currently, the major averages are turning in another mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is down 55.50 points or 0.2 percent at 23,520.99, the S&P 500 is up 5.94 points or 0.1 percent at 6,846.45 and the Dow is up 238.93 points or 0.5 percent at 47,799.22.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another quarter point, there is considerable uncertainty about the longer-term outlook for rates.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.6 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point on Wednesday but a 70.4 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged in January.
Traders are likely to pay close attention to the wording of the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.
Fed officials' latest economic projections may also provide some clues about the outlook for rates, but their views may be unusually divided given recent uncertainty.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Housing stocks have shown a notable move to the upside, however, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index climbing by 1.2 percent.
Computer hardware and biotechnology stocks are also seeing some strength, while software stocks have moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after trending lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.0 basis points at 4.166 percent.
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