Stocks traded mixed Wednesday as investors wrestled with a larger-than-expected drop in durable goods orders and awaited results of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting on interest rates.
The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods plunged 2.8 percent last month, after increases in the previous three months. The stock market initially dropped sharply, but then pulled back up to trade mixed. Investors hope the U.S. economy rebounds from its recent slowdown, but they also don’t want growth to be so strong that it warrants a rate hike by the Fed.
Investors wary of turbulence in the past few weeks due to soaring bond yields will be looking for any clues of policy makers’ views on the economy in the central bank’s statement Thursday, when it is expected to keep the benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent.
The Fed has stated recently that it expects the economy will continue to recover from a weak first quarter despite difficulties in the housing market. However, inflation remains a paramount concern, and the policy statement will again most likely address that. (AP)
