Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as markets were jittery ahead of a highly anticipated policy statement by the Federal Reserve later in the day.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.19%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged down 0.12%.
Investors remained cautious amid growing expectations that the Fed will to start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month bond purchasing program later this year.
In May, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
Dell slipped 0.11% after Carl Icahn suggested that shareholders tender an offer on 1.1 billion shares, as an alternative to Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners's proposal to take the company private.
Among Internet-related companies, Google also lost 0.11% as the company urged the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for permission to publish the aggregate numbers and scope of national security requests it receives from the U.S. government.
Separately, Google, currently on the lookout for acquisitions, was said to be for the first time considering forging alliances with private-equity firms to help it structure deals.
Adding to losses, Dish Network edged down 0.08% after saying late Tuesday that it would not make a new offer to buy Sprint Nextel, and would instead focus on its tender offer for Clearwire.
On the upside, shares DreamWorks Animation advanced 0.70% after Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg said the company will generate USD100 million in TV production revenue this year, lessening the company’s dependence on films.
FedEx rallied 1.31% after reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit, thanks to its ground shipment business and amid lower jet fuel prices.
Adobe also gained ground, surging 5.93% after the software maker beat earnings expectations and said it expects the number of paid subscribers for Creative Cloud in the current quarter to top the 221,000 subscribers who signed up in the second quarter, increasing the total to 700,000.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.38%, Germany's DAX fell 0.24%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.46%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.13%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 1.83%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.19%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged down 0.12%.
Investors remained cautious amid growing expectations that the Fed will to start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month bond purchasing program later this year.
In May, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
Dell slipped 0.11% after Carl Icahn suggested that shareholders tender an offer on 1.1 billion shares, as an alternative to Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners's proposal to take the company private.
Among Internet-related companies, Google also lost 0.11% as the company urged the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for permission to publish the aggregate numbers and scope of national security requests it receives from the U.S. government.
Separately, Google, currently on the lookout for acquisitions, was said to be for the first time considering forging alliances with private-equity firms to help it structure deals.
Adding to losses, Dish Network edged down 0.08% after saying late Tuesday that it would not make a new offer to buy Sprint Nextel, and would instead focus on its tender offer for Clearwire.
On the upside, shares DreamWorks Animation advanced 0.70% after Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg said the company will generate USD100 million in TV production revenue this year, lessening the company’s dependence on films.
FedEx rallied 1.31% after reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit, thanks to its ground shipment business and amid lower jet fuel prices.
Adobe also gained ground, surging 5.93% after the software maker beat earnings expectations and said it expects the number of paid subscribers for Creative Cloud in the current quarter to top the 221,000 subscribers who signed up in the second quarter, increasing the total to 700,000.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.38%, Germany's DAX fell 0.24%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.46%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.13%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 1.83%.