The S&P 500 was little changed Wednesday as investors awaited the latest Federal Reserve policy decision.
The broad market index and Nasdaq Composite hovered near the flatline, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44 points.
Intel rose more than 1% on news that the White House plans to award the semiconductor company $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants. Chipotle Mexican Grill popped more than 6% after announcing a stock split.
Wall Street eagerly awaits the Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision, with the central bank broadly anticipated to keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting.
Investors will scan the dot plot for insight into the number and timing of rate cuts, with many anticipating the central bank will start lowering rates in June. Some are concerned a recent spate of hot inflation reports could result in even fewer cuts than markets are anticipating.
“Despite the market still pricing in nearly three cuts for the year, the dot plot may show only two, especially given recent higher-than-expected CPI prints,” said Gargi Chaudhuri, head of iShares investment strategy, Americas at BlackRock.
“A slight shift in the stance of a few FOMC members could make this possible and a revision to higher 2024 dots could also impact growth and inflation expectations,” she added, noting that this could pose problems for recent underperforming areas such as small caps that often “move in lockstep with rate expectations.”
Wall Street is coming off a positive session for the major benchmarks. The 30-stock Dow advanced 320 points, or 0.8%, notching its best day since Feb. 22. The S&P 500 rose roughly 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite added about 0.4%.
Recent weakness in tech stocks has had some investors deliberating whether the artificial intelligence rally is slowing, as other parts of the market gain traction.
