Investing.com - Wall Street opened mixed Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and its outlook for next year.
The S&P 500 fell 1 point, or 0.05%, as of 9:30 AM ET (14:30 GMT), while the Dow increased 17 points, or 0.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 11 points, or 0.17%.
A fourth rate hike is expected at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting at 2:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT), with a press conference at 2:30 PM ET (19:30 GMT). Investors will be watching closely for signs of further hikes into 2019, as global risks and dovish tones from Fed leaders, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, have pointed to a slowing rate of increases.
"There is hope that a dovish announcement today could go some way to undoing the damage of the last few months," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London. "With the global economy facing lower growth in 2019, including the U.S., inflation in check and U.S. stocks in correction territory, it may not be the best time to be raising rates."
General Electric (NYSE:GE) was among the top gainers, rising 5% amid news that it is moving ahead with plans to spin off its health care unit, its second-most-profitable business line.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) gained 1.6%, while Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) inched up 0.5% and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) ticked up 0.3%.
Elsewhere, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) dipped 0.2% after the company insisted that preferential access to customers’ personal data was done with user permission in response to a recent report.
Micron (NASDAQ:MU) slumped 5% after its guidance raised concerns, while 3M (NYSE:MMM) fell 0.3% after the company agreed to buy M*Modal’s technology business.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,258.00 a troy ounce and crude oil increased 1.6% to $47.35 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, slipped 0.4% to 96.13.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.