Stocks, bond yields in holding pattern ahead of Fed decision

A person wearing a protective mask rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in the rain Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Tokyo. Asian shares were mixed in quiet trading Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may give clues on what lies ahead with its massive support for markets. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A woman wearing a protective mask walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Tokyo. Asian shares were mixed in quiet trading Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may give clues on what lies ahead with its massive support for markets. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A woman wearing a protective mask walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in the rain Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Tokyo. Asian shares were mixed in quiet trading Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may give clues on what lies ahead with its massive support for markets. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Nov. 16, 2020 file photo a man wearing a mask passes the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks are edging mostly lower in early trading on Wall Street Tuesday, June 15, 2021, a day after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit their latest record highs. Technology stocks, which had led the gains a day earlier, were in the losing column. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Flags adorn the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street Wednesday as traders wait for the latest decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

People pass an entrance of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street Wednesday as traders wait for the latest decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The "Fearless Girl" statue faces the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street Wednesday as traders wait for the latest decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks were moving between small gains and losses Wednesday as investors wait to hear from the Federal Reserve on issues related to the economy and inflation.

The S&P 500 index was down 0.1% as of 11:08 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 28 points, or 0.1%, to 34,271 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%.

Banks and industrial stocks weighed down the broader market, offsetting gains made by health care and technology companies. The S&P 500 is sitting just below a record high set on Monday. Trading remains choppy as investors gauge how to position themselves amid the economic recovery and rising inflation.

“There’s not a lot of volatility right now, but we’ve had shallow ups and downs,” said Veronica Willis, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “It’s good to focus on the underlying state of the economy and how that could drive equities going forward.”

The Federal Reserve will end a two-day policy meeting later in the day. While investors do not expect the nation's central bank to increase interest rates from their near-zero levels, most are looking for some sort of guidance from the Fed on inflation.

Prices for many basic materials have risen sharply this year, including copper, oil and lumber, as demand for those materials increases as the U.S. economy recovers from the pandemic. Fed officials have previously said they expect inflation this year to be temporary and largely as a byproduct of economic growth and trillions of dollars of economic stimulus.

Most economists expect the Fed to say again on Wednesday that it sees higher inflation being only temporary, which would allow it to hold steady on its support for markets. But they also say Wednesday afternoon could offer the first sign that the Fed is mulling when to start slowing its purchases of bonds.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell slightly to 1.49% from 1.50% the day before.

In individual stocks, shares of Oracle fell 5.6% after the company's full-year projections came in below analysts' forecasts. Furniture company La-Z-Boy fell 9.1% after warning investors that supply chain problems and higher materials prices could hurt profit margins.

General Motors rose 2.1% after saying it will raise spending on electric and autonomous vehicles and add two U.S. battery factories.