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.
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