Stocks Opened Flat ahead of Fed Decision

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday as investors waited for the conclusion of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting for indications of a third interest rate hike this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 5.35 points, or 0.02%, to 22,365.45. The S&P 500 gained 0.22 point, or 0.01%, to 2,506.87. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.80 points, or 0.07%, to 6,456.52.

Oil prices advanced Wednesday amid ongoing optimism that production cuts have shown some success in bringing down global inventories. October West Texas Intermediate crude rose 54 cents, or 1.1%, to push just back above $50 a barrel. November Brent crude rose 49 cents, or 0.9%, to$55.63 a barrel.

Package delivery company United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) said it expected to hire about 95,000 seasonal employees for its crucial peak holiday season for the fourth straight year.

Toshiba Corp.’s board agreed to sell its flash memory chip unit to a group led by Bain Capital for 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), taking an important step toward ending a contentious bidding process that has stretched over eight months.