US open: Stocks mixed ahead of FOMC minutes

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.39% at 42,242.40, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.06% to 5,754.76 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.11% weaker at 18,163.52.

The Dow opened 162.03 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Wednesday's primary focus will be minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee's September meeting at 1900 BST, with market participants hoping to gain further insight into the central bank's thinking as it lowered interest rates by 50 basis points- its first interest rate cut in four years

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 5.1% in the week ended 4 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 1.3% drop in taking a bite out of the almost 30% surge in demand throughout September. Applications to refinance a mortgage sank by 9%, while those to purchase a home were broadly unchanged.

Elsewhere, wholesale inventories increased 0.10% month-on-month in August, according to the Census Bureau.

Still to come, San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly will deliver a speech at 2300 BST.

In the corporate space, Alphabet shares were in early trading after the Department of Justice said it was looking into a possible forced breakup of search engine giant Google, while shares in aircraft manufacturer Boeing flew lower at the open after strike talks with its workers' union hit an impasse.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $81.91 1.41%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $231.00 1.04%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $501.48 0.99%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $169.64 0.88%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.15 0.83%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.15 0.81%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $586.00 0.76%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $417.18 0.73%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $304.04 0.71%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.64 0.67%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $150.92 -2.41%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $288.67 -0.99%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.00 -0.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.29 -0.13%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $148.56 -0.13%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.96 -0.12%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $318.15 0.15%
3M Co. (MMM) $134.92 0.17%
American Express Co. (AXP) $269.64 0.20%

S&P 500 - Risers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $22.33 7.36%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $19.68 4.28%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $188.36 2.71%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $45.76 2.62%
VF Corp. (VFC) $20.37 2.36%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $23.40 2.32%
Raymond James Fin Corp. (RJF) $127.61 2.17%
Msci Inc. (MSCI) $608.92 2.03%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $79.29 1.95%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $31.26 1.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Gap Inc. (GAP) $20.07 -2.95%
Boeing Co. (BA) $150.92 -2.41%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $64.70 -2.22%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $20.59 -1.79%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $100.73 -1.77%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $92.00 -1.66%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $149.65 -1.52%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $178.04 -1.49%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $584.36 -1.44%
Apache Corp. (APA) $25.90 -1.37%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.65 4.37%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.09 1.38%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $34.31 1.30%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $275.57 1.23%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $86.14 1.09%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $368.33 1.05%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $166.98 1.03%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $199.39 0.94%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $258.93 0.92%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $49.93 0.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $88.88 -5.88%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $64.70 -2.22%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.69 -1.95%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $104.11 -1.79%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $100.73 -1.77%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $149.65 -1.52%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $178.04 -1.49%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $584.36 -1.44%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $241.22 -1.34%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $162.45 -1.17%