Major Averages Lingering Near The Unchanged Line In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Wednesday, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The major averages are lingering near the unchanged line after closing higher for three straight sessions.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the announcement from the Fed, which is scheduled to be released at about 2 pm ET.

While the Fed is likely to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank is widely expected to announce another $10 billion reduction in the pace of asset purchases to $35 billion per month.

The impact to the markets is more likely to stem from the language of the accompanying statement as well as any changes to the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest move in early trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Utilities and transportation stocks are seeing some strength, while modest weakness is visible among housing and semiconductor stocks.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the S&P 500 is up 0.80 points or less than a tenth of a percent, the Dow is down 11.88 points or 0.1 percent at 16,796.61 and the Nasdaq is down 6.66 points or 0.2 percent at 4,330.58.