By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks were generally flat on
Wednesday as investors remained on sidelines ahead of the policy
announcement from the FOMC meeting and a news conference by Federal
Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
The Fed is expected to continue tapering the bond-buying program
at a pace of $10 billion a month, though there might be changes to
the way it targets unemployment and inflation.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was flat at 1,872.10, after rising for two
straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) ticked up 8
points to 16,344.12.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was off 4 points, or 0.1%, at
4,329.52.
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Ahead of the opening bell, the sole economic release was on
current accounts, which narrowed in the fourth quarter, according
to the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
A batch of mixed earnings did little to influence cautious
sentiment.
All attention is on the FOMC meeting, which will release a
policy statement and updated economic forecasts at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Fed Chairwoman Yellen will hold a news conference at the end of the
deliberations at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. It will be the first news
conference for Yellen as new Chairwoman. (Also see: At her first
news conference, Janet Yellen's communications style will be tested
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2014/03/18/at-her-first-press-conference-janet-yellens-communications-style-will-be-tested/?link=instory.)
Economists broadly see the Fed tapering its bond-buying program
by another $10 billion, while moving away from using a 6.5%
unemployment rate as a threshold for the rate change.
Related reading:
Fed set to roll out new low-rate pledge
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Among individual stocks, shares in KB Home (KBH) jumped 8.8%
after the home maker swung to profit in its fiscal first quarter,
beating analysts estimates.
Shares of Oracle Corp. (ORCL) fell 1.3% after the
business-software group's adjusted profit and revenue growth wasn't
as strong as analysts had forecast.
FedEx Corp. (FDX) was little changed following the release of
its fiscal third-quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street's
expectations. FedEx Corp. said severe winter weather dragged down
its earnings for the quarter ended Feb. 28.
General Mills Inc. (GIS) shares were 1.2% higher after the food
company reported quarterly profit mostly in line with
expectations.
In overseas markets, Asia had a mixed day, with the Nikkei 225
giving up a more than 1.2% gain at one point to close up just 0.4%,
while Chinese stocks went nowhere. European markets slipped, while
the FTSE 100 index rose after the release of minutes from the
latest Bank of England Monetary Policy meeting and the latest jobs
data.
(GBPUSD)Gold prices (GCM4) were off around $16 to $1,343 an
ounce, while oil eased marginally.
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