US open: Mixed start to trading ahead of Fed rate decision

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's hotly-anticipated interest rate decision.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12% at 33,169.00, while the S&P 500 was 0.24% softer at 4,165.66 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.87% weaker at 12,453.90.

The Dow opened 40.21 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the US central bank, which is widely expected to up interest rates by half a percentage point following the conclusion of its policy meeting at 1900 BST and also announce a plan to cut its approximately $9.0trn balance sheet by roughly $95.0bn per month from June.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications increased by 2.50% week-on-week in the seven days ended 29 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Elsewhere, private businesses hired 247,000 workers in April according to Automatic Data Processing Inc, the smallest figure since April 2020 and well below forecasts of 395,000.

"In April, the labour market recovery showed signs of slowing as the economy approaches full employment. While hiring demand remains strong, labour supply shortages caused job gains to soften for both goods producers and services providers. As the labor market tightens, small companies, with fewer than 50 employees, struggle with competition for wages amid increased costs", said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.

On another note, the US trade deficit widened sharply to a record high of $109.8bn in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as a broad-based rise in prices brought about a 10.3% surge in imports, which also topped a fresh high of $351.5bn.

Still on data, the S&P Global composite PMI for April was revised higher to a print of 55.6, up from a preliminary reading of 54.7, pointing to a sharp increase in services activity, while the composite PMI was upwardly revised to 56, up from the preliminary reading of 55.1 but still well below March's print of 57.7.

Finally, last month's non-manufacturing PMI from the Institute for Supply Management fell to 57.1 in April, down 58.3 in March and well below estimates for a reading of 58.5, principally due to a restricted labour pool and a slowdown in new orders growth.

In corporate news, CVS Health raised full-year forecasts after Q1 earnings topped expectations, while Uber shares were in the red after the ridesharing giant posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Yum Brands and eBay will release their most recent quarterly figures after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $150.38 1.55%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $216.84 1.51%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $164.14 1.02%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $124.18 0.93%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $68.77 0.91%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $247.71 0.75%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.49 0.65%
American Express Co. (AXP) $173.15 0.60%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $160.42 0.59%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $316.35 0.54%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $121.43 -1.16%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $495.02 -0.92%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $280.56 -0.43%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.73 -0.42%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $177.62 -0.41%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $177.68 -0.34%
Visa Inc. (V) $208.08 -0.23%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $152.21 -0.20%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $42.87 -0.16%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.43 -0.11%

S&P 500 - Risers

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $78.99 6.27%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $208.89 5.97%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $192.27 5.01%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $62.09 4.30%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $106.47 3.72%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $182.91 3.38%
Regency Centers Corp. (REG) $70.84 3.27%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $93.83 2.96%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $177.79 2.75%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $139.81 2.72%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) $54.29 -12.30%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $101.57 -10.74%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $397.87 -8.74%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $109.82 -8.08%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $186.00 -7.06%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $4.29 -4.86%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $115.18 -4.07%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $275.57 -3.83%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $185.20 -3.71%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $7.59 -3.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $78.99 6.27%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $177.79 2.75%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $175.93 1.87%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $35.12 1.71%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $62.73 1.64%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $86.07 1.16%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $71.96 0.98%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $100.29 0.85%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $55.25 0.80%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $574.95 0.75%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $397.87 -8.74%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $109.82 -8.08%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $186.00 -7.06%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $947.24 -4.96%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $22.68 -3.65%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $290.80 -3.40%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $193.82 -3.03%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $292.61 -2.69%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $643.40 -2.59%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $60.60 -2.53%