Stocks Opened Flat ahead of Fed Decision

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday, ahead of the end of an important policy update from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 32.39 points, or 0.13%, to 24,694.88. The S&P 500 lost 2.85 points, or 0.10%, to 2,714.09. The Nasdaq Composite was down 3.36 points, or 0.04%, to 7,360.95.

Oil prices continued to rise Wednesday after hitting three-week highs the day before, bolstered by renewed geopolitical risk to global supply. May WTI crude advanced 63 cents, or 1%, to $64.17. May Brent crude gained 79 cents, or 1.2%, to $68.21 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will wrap up its first two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) since Chair Jerome Powell was confirmed as the central bank’s head in early February. Market pricing suggests there is a 95% chance the Fed raises interest rates with its policy statement, expected out at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the CME Group.

Cheerios cereal maker General Mills Inc (GIS) cut its full-year earnings forecast due to a sharp increase in freight and commodity costs. It now expects fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings per share to grow up to 1 percent, compared with a prior forecast for a 3 percent to 4 percent increase.