On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq showed little movement as declines in major tech companies like Apple and Nvidia curbed wider market gains. All eyes were on the impending interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve, set for release later in the day.
It is broadly anticipated that the Federal Reserve will maintain the current interest rates in its announcement, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Goldman Sachs economists mentioned in a report, “Given the lack of clear effects from various governmental actions, especially tariffs, as well as tax policies and the immigration policy’s influence on the job market, we anticipate the Fed will likely offer limited guidance today.”
As of 9:46 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen by 23.73 points, or 0.05%, reaching 44,874.08, while the S&P 500 dropped by 16.71 points, or 0.26%, to 6,052.02, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 112.68 points, or 0.53%, to 19,628.68.
Technology stocks led the downturn with a 1.1% decline, impacting six of the eleven sectors in the S&P 500.
Nvidia’s stock fell by 3.3% after a previous gain of nearly 9% on Tuesday. The drop followed the launch of new AI models by Chinese startup DeepSeek, which claimed to be more cost-effective and to operate on less sophisticated chips than those required by OpenAI.
Apple’s shares also saw a decrease of 1.1% after Oppenheimer downgraded its rating from “outperform” to “perform.” The tech giant is expected to release its quarterly earnings later this week.
According to data from LSEG, of the 112 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 75.9% have exceeded analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, shares in semiconductor firms and related equipment manufacturers saw gains after Dutch company ASML reported fourth-quarter bookings of 7.09 billion euros ($7.39 billion), significantly surpassing expectations. KLA Corp rose 1.5%, Applied Materials was up 1.3%, Lam Research increased by 0.5%, and Micron Technology added 1.1% in morning trading.
The previous session saw the Nasdaq jump 2% and the S&P 500 nearly 1%, as Nvidia and other AI-related tech stocks partially recovered from earlier losses in the week.
Market tensions have been fueled by concerns over proposed tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, which could heighten inflationary pressures and hinder rate reductions.
The December reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key indicator for tracking inflation, is expected to be released on Friday.
In earnings news, T-Mobile surged 7.4% following its forecast of stronger-than-expected annual subscriber growth, spurred by rising demand for its affordable premium 5G plans.
Conversely, Danaher’s stock dropped 7.7% after the life sciences firm reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, attributed to weak demand for its biotech and pharmaceutical client services.
Upcoming earnings reports from major companies like Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Tesla are highly anticipated after the market closes.
F5, a cybersecurity and cloud services firm, saw its stock jump 5.1% after projecting second-quarter revenues that topped estimates and reporting strong first-quarter results.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.09-to-1 ratio, while on the Nasdaq, decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.29-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 registered 18 new 52-week highs and two new lows, whereas the Nasdaq Composite noted 36 new highs and 52 new lows.
($1 = 0.9628 euros)This story was updated to include new information.