Stocks slipped on Wednesday as market participants waited for the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates following the release of key economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 16.15 points at the start of Wednesday to 27,055.27
The broader S&P 500 slipped 4.56 points to open for business at 3,032.33
The NASDAQ Composite Index stumbled 16.79 points to 8,260.06
The corporate earnings season also continued Wednesday with General Electric posting results that topped analyst expectations. GE also raised its forecast for 2019 cash flow, sending its stock up 10.5%.
CME Group and ADP also reported better-than-expected earnings. Apple, Facebook, Starbucks and Lyft are among the companies set to release their results after the bell.
The Fed is largely expected to cut announce a 25 basis-point rate cut at 2 p.m. ET. That would be the central bank's third rate cut of 2019.
But investors will look for clues about the Fed's moves after this meeting. Market expectations for another interest rate cut in December are at 23%, compared with almost 70% earlier this month.
The Commerce Department said U.S. Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.9% in the third quarter, topping expected growth of 1.6%. The better-than-expected print was driven by continued consumer spending along with government expenditures.
U.S. private payrolls increased by 125,000 in October, according to ADP and Moody's Analytics. That topped a Dow Jones estimate of 100,000. However, September payrolls were trimmed down by 42,000 to 93,000.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were up slightly, lowering yields to 1.82% from Tuesday's 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 29 cents to $55.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.40 to $1,495.10 U.S. an ounce.