S&P 500, Dow Jones slip ahead of Fed outlook; Nasdaq scales fresh high

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, by contrast, hit a record high for the fourth straight session, with gains for Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp driving rally

The S&P 500 and Dow eased on Wednesday, as losses in financial stocks outweighed a boost from technology, with focus shifting to the Federal Reserve's first projections on the economy since the coronavirus outbreak.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, by contrast, hit a record high for the fourth straight session, with gains for Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp driving a rally which has taken the index back into bull market territory.

The Fed concludes its regular two-day meeting later on Wednesday, with investors set to parse the outcome for signs on how long the central bank plans to maintain its ultra loose policy along with any plans to introduce yield control measures aimed at US Treasuries.

A surge of more than 45% in the three main US stock indexes, since falling sharply in March, has been underpinned by unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus measures and resulting hopes of an economic rebound.

The benchmark S&P 500 is about 5.5% below its all-time high. Any hint that the Fed could rein in stimulus could derail the stock market's recovery in the past month.

"The market wants assurance that the Fed is not going to step in and stunt or slow the recovery," said Kevin Miller, chief investment officer at E-valuator Funds in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The global economy will suffer the biggest peacetime downturn in a century before it emerges next year from a recession, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday.At 10:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 181.67 points, or 0.67%, at 27,090.63, the S&P 500 was down 7.07 points, or 0.22%, at 3,200.11.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 65.23 points, or 0.66%, at 10,018.98.Interest rate-sensitive financial stocks slipped, tracking a fall in US Treasury yields. The energy sector shed 3.6%, as oil prices weakened after a rise in UScrude inventories raised oversupply concerns.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc jumped 7% after saying it expects to reopen its movie theaters globally in July.

The S&P 1500 airlines index slumped 9.6% as J.P.Morgan analysts said the current pace of rise in USairline stocks cannot be maintained for much longer.Starbucks Corp slipped 4% as it expectedcurrent-quarter operating income to plunge by up to $2.2 billion, as well as sales declines for the rest of the year.

Apparel retailer Guess Inc dropped 22% after posting downbeat quarterly revenue and flagging a similar decline in second-quarter revenue, hurt by store closures and lower demand.Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.74-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.80-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 11 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and no new low.