NEW YORK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fluctuated between small gains and losses in the morning session Wednesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's statement scheduled for release in the afternoon.
Around midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.31 points, or 0.02 percent, to 21,332.78. The S&P 500 fell 3.01 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,437.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.76 points, or 0.03 percent, to 6,222.13.
After the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, the U.S. central bank will release a statement at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (1800 GMT), followed by Fed Chair Jannet Yellen's news conference at 2:30 p.m. (1830 GMT).
As it is widely expected that the central bank will raise interest rates by a quarter point at this meeting, investors will be focused on forward guidance, balance sheet reduction and what signals Yellen gives in her press conference.
U.S. economic data came out softer than expected. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers decreased 0.1 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 1.9 percent.
The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent in May, and it rose 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May decreased 0.3 percent from the previous month to 473.8 billion U.S. dollars, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.
"The economy has slowed, inflation remains ominously low and consumers are in a wary mood. It's hard to believe the Fed will not just raise rates this afternoon, they will do it without even thinking about possible consequences," said Chris Low and Jay Morelock, economists at FTN Financial, in a joint note.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rebounded, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 setting new closing records, as the Fed kicked off its two-day policy meeting. Enditem
