Wall Street starts mixed hours before the end of the Fed meeting

Wall Street started the session in a mixed fashion, on a day when investors eagerly awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting.

The Nasdaq Technology Index continued its decline by 0.14% to 12,550.86 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.11% to 33,146.08 points. The S&P 500 is trading on the waterline (0.03%).

Among the major market moves were Uber shares, which fell more than 2% after the company reported an increase in losses to $5.9 billion during the first three months of the year leading up to the session.

On the other hand, Moderna fell 0.59% after the drug company realized that the number of orders for new vaccines remained unchanged during the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter.

In contrast, the Marriott hotel chain posted a gain of more than 3% after results for the same period beat expectations.

Wednesday’s session is mainly dominated by expectations regarding the speech that Jerome Powell will give after the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve that ends on Wednesday. The central bank is expected to announce a new rate hike for the second time this year.

According to economists, Jerome Powell is expected to go ahead with a 50 basis point rate hike, like we haven’t seen since 2000.

The decision is expected to be accompanied by the announcement to reduce the size of the central bank’s balance sheet – currently with $8.9 billion in assets – starting in June.