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S&P 500 opens modestly lower, tech shares underperform ahead of FOMC

  • Wall Street's main indexes trade mixed on Wednesday.
  • Financial stocks gain traction on rising US T-bond yields.
  • Investors await FOMC's Economic Projections and Monetary Policy Statement.

Major equity indexes in the US paint a mixed picture after the opening bell on Wednesday as investors remain hesitant to make large bets ahead of the all-important FOMC announcements.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25% on the day at 32,904, the S&P 500 was losing 0.53% at 3,942 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.46% at 12,960.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is the biggest daily percentage decline in the early trade, down 1.3%. On the other hand, the Financials Index is rising 1.05% supported by a 3% increase in the 10-year US Treasury bond yield.

An upbeat economic outlook in the FOMC's Economic Projections could help stocks gain traction in the second half of the session. However, market participants will pay close attention to any changes to policymakers' long-term inflation expectations.

Federal Reserve Preview: Forecast from 19 major banks.

S&P 500 chart (daily)

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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