NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mostly lower as investors remain skittish ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest announcement on interest rates and the state of the economy.
The Fed is expected to keep rates at historic lows. Traders will be looking closely at the Fed’s assessment of the economy later Wednesday for indications of when it will wind down more of its supports for the financial system.
Meanwhile, a 7.6 percent drop in sales of new homes in December brought concerns about how fast the economy is recovering.
At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 30 at 10,165. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 2 at 1,090, while the Nasdaq composite index is up less than 1 at 2,204.
