US Stock Markets Today: Nasdaq And S&P 500 Open Lower, Dow Jones Up Ahead Of Fed Rate Decision

US stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.07% to below 23,000 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose as much as 0.3% to 43,566, to snap its longest losing streak since 1978.

The broader S&P 500 was down 0.06% at 6,048. Eight out of the eleven sectoral indices were trading in the red, led by declines in consumer discretionary, consumer staples and telecom. Industrials, healthcare and information technology were the only sectors seeing gains.

Among major companies, shares of Nvidia Corp., UnitedHealth Group, Uber Technologies Inc. and CVS Health Corp. witnessed gains in early trade. On other hand, Moderna Inc., Super Micro Computers Inc., Tesla Inc. and Microsoft Corp. saw a decline.

The markets are clearly focused on the Fed's last rate decision of 2024. A quarter-point cut is widely expected, but uncertainty looms over the future course of action.

Despite the resilience of the US economy, the potential for inflationary import tariffs under Donald Trump's incoming administration may cause Fed officials to reconsider the pace of future rate hikes.

The Fed's future rate projection and Chairman Jerome Powell's speech is will also be closely monitored. The decision will be announced at 12:30 a.m., as per Indian Standard Time, and Powell will address a press conference at 1:00 a.m. (IST).

Among other asset classes, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was flat at 4.4%.

The Dollar Index remained steady at 107. The euro was little changed, while the British pound fell 0.1%. The Japanese yen declined 0.2%.

In the commodities market, spot gold was down 0.3% at $2,638 per ounce. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, gained nearly 1% to trade near $74 per barrel.

Bitcoin sunk 1.8% to $104,537.76.

Follow the latest on the US FOMC Meeting here.