On Wednesday, US markets experienced a minor decline as investors anticipated the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Later in the day, Fed policymakers will wrap up their two-day meeting.
The S&P 500 was down 4.55 points, or 0.09 percent, at 5,173.96, the Nasdaq Composite was down 32.36 points, or 0.20 percent, at 16,134.43, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 20.12 points, or 0.05 percent, at 39,090.64 at 9:49 a.m. ET.
The Nasdaq Composite began the day stronger at 16,185.76, up 18.97 points, or 0.12%, while the S&P 500 opened at 5,181.69, up 3.18 points, or 0.06 percent.
Bond market Treasury yields were stable as shares of Tesla increased by 0.3%, Chipotle by 6.2%, and Intel by 1.2%. On Wednesday, the US dollar increased by 0.5% to mark its fifth straight session of gains. The majority of European stock markets fell on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 in Britain decreased by 0.2% to 7,724.13 points. The CAC 40 for France dropped 0.5% to 8,156.48. The DAX in Germany increased by 0.2% to 18,021.17.
The Euro Stoxx 50 fell by 0.1% to 5,002.03. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,079.69 on Asian stock markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.1 per cent at 16,543.07.
Crude oil prices declined on Wednesday. By 1201 GMT, May Brent crude futures were down 72 cents, or 0.82 percent, at $86.66 per barrel. The Wednesday-expiring US West Texas Intermediate futures for April delivery dropped 84 cents, or 1.01%, to $82.63.
Due to the strengthening US dollar on Wednesday, gold prices gradually declined. By 1335 GMT, spot gold had dropped 0.2% to $2,152.52 an ounce.
