U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday but pared gains modestly throughout the morning, as market participants await minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, as well as eye early results from companies reporting quarterly earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled 16.54 points to greet noon at 26,134.04
The S&P 500 gained 6.13 points to 2,884.33
The NASDAQ Composite galloped 34.97 points to 7,944.26
Apple shares slipped after HSBC downgraded the tech giant's stock over concern regarding Apple's services business. Disney's stock rose after its second upgrade in as many days, with BMO Capital Markets seeing upside as the company expands its theme park offerings and launches its own online streaming service.
In corporate news, Delta Air Lines and MSC Industrial released their latest quarterly results this morning, while Bed Bath & Beyond is set to publish its earnings after market close.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its March monetary policy meeting later in the session. Last month, the U.S. central bank decided to maintain interest rates and hold off on any further increases this year. The minutes should provide additional details for investors to understand why most Fed officials do not expect to raise interest rates in 2019.
The U.S. Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in March, the largest increase in over a year.
Meanwhile, global economic growth was a sore point for risk asset markets. The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for world economic growth this year, saying a slowdown could force world leaders to coordinate stimulus measures.
The fund said it expects the world economy to grow by 3.3% this year. That's down from its previous outlook of 3.5%, which was also a downgrade.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.47% from Tuesday's 2.5%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 45 cents to $64.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $4.50 to $1,312.80 U.S. an ounce.