Stocks Waver at Open ahead of Fed Statement

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday ahead of the policy announcement from the FOMC meeting and a news conference by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was off 12.58 points, or 0.08%, to 16,323.61. The S&P 500 was down 2.13 points, or 0.11%, at 1,871.49. The Nasdaq Composite fell 9.59 points, or 0.22%, at 4,330.86.

The Federal Reserve is set to trim its bond-buying stimulus for a third time in a row on Wednesday, and will probably rewrite its
guidance on when it might eventually raise interest rates.

FedEx Corp (FDX), the world’s No. 2 package delivery company, posted lower-than-expected results on Wednesday and forecast a weaker full year profit view, saying it was significantly hurt by winter storms. For the third quarter, the company earned $378 million, or 1.23 a share, on revenue of $11.3 billion. The company’s third quarter revenue totaled $11.3 billion, missing forecasts of $11.43 billion.

The Justice Department is expected to announce a settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. as early as Wednesday that could cost the auto maker more than $1 billion to end a criminal probe into its disclosure of safety issues.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) confirmed Wednesday it plans to sell its physical commodities business to Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. for $3.5 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.