Stocks continue to show a lack of direction in late morning trading on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The major averages have spent the session bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as many traders have moved to the sidelines ahead of the Fed announcement later this afternoon.
The markets have recently benefited from optimism that the Fed will announce additional measures to stimulate the sluggish economy in light of a recent batch of disappointing U.S. economic data as well as the ongoing financial crisis in Europe.
Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets, gold stocks are moving sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for August delivery falling $20.40 to $1,602.80 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is down by 2 percent.
Trucking, railroad, and defense stocks are seeing more moderate weakness, while some strength is visible among tobacco and healthcare provider stocks.
The major averages have moved to the downside in recent trading and are currently posting modest losses. The Dow is down 17.22 points or 0.1 percent at 12,820.11, the Nasdaq is down 4.08 points or 0.1 percent at 2,925.68 and the S&P 500 is down 3.19 points or 0.2 percent at 1,354.79.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.