Wall Street opened mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited news from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policymaking committee.
The Dow gained 73 points, or 0.2%, at Wednesday’s opening bell. The S&P 500 fell by 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% lower.
Shares of Google-parent company Alphabet opened 5.6% lower and Microsoft grew by 0.8% after the tech behemoths reported corporate earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023. Both companies surpassed Wall Street’s estimates, though ad revenue at Google fell below expectations.
The Fed makes its first interest rate decision of the year later this afternoon. But with practically all of Wall Street in agreement that no changes will be made, investors are focused on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s afternoon press conference where he’ll answer questions about his outlook for monetary policy.
In corporate news, plane manufacturer Boeing was up 2.9% after it released its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. The company beat Wall Street expectations but suspended forward guidance as it comes under pressure from the fallout of its 737 Max 9 crisis.
Hiring got off to a soft start in 2024, according to payroll processor ADP’s latest monthly employment report released Wednesday morning.
The private sector added an estimated 107,000 jobs in January, well below economists’ expectations for 145,000 jobs and a sharp cooldown from the downwardly revised 158,000 jobs in December.
Still, investors are eagerly awaiting the official jobs numbers for January, due out on Friday morning.
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