US stock market mixed ahead of Fed meeting

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened mixed on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve's stance amid rising inflation concerns and the overall American economy.

The Dow Jones was up 76 points to 32,904 at 9.45 a.m. EDT (1345GMT) with General Electric and JPMorgan each adding more than 1%.

While the S&P 500 was down 17 to 3,945, the Nasdaq lost 1% to fall to 13,335 with Tesla shedding 1% and Moderna and Novavax losing more than 3%.

After staying dormant for two consecutive days, the VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 5% above the 20 threshold.

The 10-year Treasury yields are hovering around 1.66, the highest level in more than a year, but 30-year Treasury yields hit their highest level since November 2019.

Investors will closely watch the outcome of the Fed meeting later Wednesday. Although the central bank is not expected to announce a rate hike, there remain multiple questions.

Besides rising yields triggering inflation fears, increasing volatility in the markets, unemployment, labor market conditions and the overall outlook of the economy will be topics closely watched.