Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as Wall Street awaited the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision while digesting corporate earnings from Apple.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 22.96 points – off its highs of the morning -- to 27,220.98
The S&P 500 tallied 3.23 points to 3,016.41. The NASDAQ added 18.9 points to 8,292.52
Apple reported Tuesday evening earnings per share and revenue for the previous quarter that topped analyst expectations, sending the stock up nearly 5% on Wednesday. The company also issued better-than-expected revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.
Nearly 60% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings so far. Of those companies, 76% have posted stronger-than-forecast quarterly profits
The Fed is set to deliver its latest decision on monetary policy at 2 p.m. ET. Chair Jerome Powell is also scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Traders were pricing in a 25 basis-point rate cut coming into the meeting. If the Fed cuts rates, it would be its first since the financial crisis more than 10 years ago.
A Fed cut would come amid mixed economic data. U.S. economic growth slowed down to 2.1% in the second quarter. However, that growth rate was better than expected.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.03% from Tuesday's 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices added 42 cents to $58.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $1.20 to $1,434.60 U.S. an ounce.