Stocks have moved modestly lower in early trading on Wednesday, giving back some ground after closing higher in the two previous sessions. The major averages have dipped into negative territory, although selling pressure remains subdued.
The major averages have edged up off their lows for the young session in the past few minutes but remain in the red. The Dow is down 36.40 points or 0.2 percent at 15,281.83, the Nasdaq is down 3.46 points or 0.1 percent at 3,478.72 and the S&P 500 is down 3.89 points or 0.2 percent at 1,647.92.
While some traders are cashing on the gains posted over the past two days, most seem to be staying on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement.
The Fed is not expected to announce an immediate change in policy, but traders will be looking for any signals regarding when the central bank will scale back its asset purchase program.
Rob Carnell, chief international economist at ING, said, "The message that the Fed is thinking about scaling back QE before too long has been received loud and clear."
"What markets now want to know is 'exactly how is this likely to proceed?', and until more clarity on that is forthcoming, markets are likely to remain jittery," he added.
Healthcare provider, telecom, and banking stocks are seeing some weakness in early trading, although most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves.
Among individual stocks, shares of FedEx (FDX) are seeing early strength after the delivery giant reported adjusted fourth quarter earnings that came in above analyst estimates. The company also forecast 7 to 13 percent earnings growth in fiscal 2014.
Software maker Adobe Systems (ADBE) is also moving to the upside after reporting better than expected adjusted second quarter earnings. The company also reported revenues for the quarter that fell year-over-year but matched analyst estimates.
Meanwhile, shares of Tetra Tech (TTEK) have come under pressure after the consulting and engineering services company forecast a third quarter loss.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has dropped by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are showing a lack of direction ahead of the Fed announcement. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 2.186 percent.
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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.