WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a lackluster performance in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The major averages have spent the day lingering near the unchanged line following the notably rebound seen over the course of the previous session.
Currently, the major averages are roughly flat, showing modest off less than a tenth of a percent each. While the Dow is up 4.10 points at 39,114.86, the Nasdaq is down 6.92 points at 16,159.87 and the S&P 500 is down 2.13 points at 5,176.38.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Fed's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement and economic projections for clues about the outlook for rates.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 99.0 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged today and a 92.1 percent chance rates will remains unchanged in May.
The outlook for June is more mixed, however, with the FedWatch Tool indicating a 59.8 percent chance of a quarter point rate cut and a 35.3 percent chance of an extended pause.
Among individual stocks, shares of Riot Platforms (RIOT) have moved sharply higher after JPMorgan upgraded its rating on the bitcoin mining company's stock to Overweight from Neutral.
Restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has also surged after announcing its board has approved a 50-for-one split of its common stock.
Meanwhile, shares of Signet Jewelers (SIG) have plunged after the jewelry retailer reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing revenue guidance for the current quarter.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Airline stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.3 percent. The index is bouncing off its lowest closing level in well over a month.
On the other hand, notable weakness has emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are modestly higher ahead of the Fed's monetary policy announcement. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.0 basis points at 4.277 percent.
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