U.S. stocks were flat on Wednesday as investors digested major technology earnings and geared up for the latest Federal Reserve policy announcement.
The S&P 500 hovered above the flatline, but touched a new intraday record earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 140 points, dragged down by a 7% drop inAmgen's stock. The Nasdaq Composite traded higher by 0.1%.
Boeing lost about 2%after posing its sixth straight quarterly loss, also weighing on the Dow.
Google parentAlphabetreportedbetter-than-expected earningsafter the bell on Tuesday, sending shares of the tech giant up more than 4%. Alphabet saw its revenues grow 34% from a year ago.
Meanwhile,Microsoftshares dipped about 2.5% even after the company topped analyst earnings. Microsoft had its largest revenue growth since 2018, thanks in part to gains in PC sales resulting from coronavirus-driven shortages last year.
Shares ofAMDandVisawere higher after posting better-than-expected results.
The Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is not expected to take any action, buteconomists expect it to defend its policy to let inflation run hot on a temporary basis. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET, 30 minutes after the decision is announced, and those comments could move markets.
"Any clues offered in the board's statement or in the subsequent press conference about potential QE tapering -- when and how fast -- would likely move both the stock and bond markets," Paulsen said.
Technology darlingsAppleandFacebookboth report earnings on Wednesday after the bell.
"Many FAANGs are reporting this week and the stock market may wait until some of these key reports are out before deciding on its next major direction," said Jim Paulsen, The Leuthold Group chief investment strategist.