Caution dominates Wednesday's midday trading session in New York as investors anxiously await the Federal Open Market Committee decision at 2 p.m. ET.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25%-4.5%. Market participants remain highly focused on any signals from Fed Chair Jerome Powell regarding the path forward for rate cuts.

The December meeting delivered a shock to markets, with Powell adopting a more hawkish tone than anticipated, suggesting that interest rates have moved closer to a neutral zone.

This FOMC meeting is also the first since Donald Trump's administration took office, fueling speculation over whether Powell will address questions about the president's pledge to “lower interest rates immediately.”

Major equity indices are little changed, with tech stocks under slight pressure as Nvidia Corp. NVDA fell 5%, weighing on the sector. Tech titans Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Meta Platforms Inc. META will report earnings after the close, with investors awaiting management clarity over the DeepSeek AI competitive threat.

Among sectors, financial stocks — tracked by the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF — hit fresh record highs, while communication services are on pace for their eighth consecutive session of gains.

The dollar and Treasury yields remain mostly flat ahead of the Fed's announcement. Commodities are mixed, with gold and oil down 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively, while silver and copper rise 1.2% and 1.1%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD is up 1% to $102,300, potentially snapping a four-session losing streak.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY inched 0.2% lower to $603.11.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA is flat at $448.62.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ edged 0.2% lower to $520.88.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM is flat at $226.81.
• The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC is outperforming, up 0.8%; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU is lagging, down 0.9%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS soared nearly 8% in reaction to stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
• Other stocks reacting to company earnings include Starbucks Corp. SBUX, up 6.7%, Chubb Ltd. CB, up 3%, F5 Inc. FFIV, up 13%, ASML Holding N.V. ASML up 3.6%, Danaher Corp. DHR, down 9%, The Progressive Corp. PGR, up 1.4%, Automatic Data Processing Inc. ADP, up 2.9%, General Dynamics Corp. GD, down 3.2%, Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC, up 3.1%, MSCI Inc. MSCI, down 3.9%, Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ, up 0.9%, Hess Corp. HES, up 0.6% and Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd. TEVA, down 13.8%.
• Major companies reporting earnings after the close other than Microsoft and Meta include Tesla Inc. TSLA, ServiceNow Inc. NOW, International Business Machines Corp. IBM, Lam Research Corp. LRCX, Raymond James Financial Inc. RJF, Ameriprise Financial Inc. AMP, Waste Management Inc. WM and Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS.

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Illustration created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.