Investors wait for Fed's announcement on rates

US stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were down slightly, but the Nasdaq composite added 0.65 percent and extended its high from Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25 percent at the conclusion of its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday.

Low interest rates are intended to encourage investment, consumer spending and house buying to spur the economy as it shakes off the government-imposed COVID-19 shutdown.

Analysts expect the nation's central bank to continue to buy bonds and support credit markets.

"The Fed is strongly committed to using our tools to do whatever we can for as long as it takes to provide some relief and some stability now, to support the recovery when it comes, and to try to avoid longer-run damage to people's lives through long states of unemployment or their businesses through unnecessary insolvency," Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said May 29 during an online policy discussion.

The nation's central bank is scheduled to release its initial round of economic projections for the year after it skipped a quarterly summary in March as the coronavirus pandemic worsened.

The Fed's projections will cover unemployment, inflation and growth following the economic downturn.

Investors will review the Fed's anticipated statement on future policies, including the duration of bond-buying and other measures intended to keep the economy functioning.

But conditions remain volatile and the Fed may not offer detailed policies until the economy regains its footing. Instead, many analysts expect the Fed to issue a broad statement of principle and to reaffirm its intention to support markets to keep the economy working.

In December 2019, the Fed said it expected unemployment in 2020 would remain low at 3.5 percent with 2 percent growth and 1.9 percent inflation.

The pandemic has changed everything. The current unemployment rate is 14.7 percent and despite last week's strong jobs report showing about 2.5 million new hires, the nation is in a recession. But inflation remains low.

The Fed's comments on Wednesday are likely to be tailored to reassure the markets. The stock market hit its low point for the year on March 23 as the Fed announced a flurry of new programs. The S&P 500, a broader gauge of the market than the 30-stock Dow, has climbed about 47 percent since then.

Meanwhile, the US Labor Department said on Wednesday that consumer prices fell in May for the third straight month as demand cooled amid the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The consumer price index (CPI) slid 0.1 percent last month after dropping 0.8 percent in April – the largest decline since 2008.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) believes the world economy confronts a severe downturn.

"Extraordinary policies will be needed to walk the tightrope towards recovery," Laurence Boone, OECD's chief economist at the Paris-based organization, said in a statement.

"Restarting economic activity while avoiding a second [COVID-19] outbreak requires flexible and agile policy making."

The organization of 37 of the world's top economies said the global economy will contract 6 percent in 2020 if a second wave of COVID-19 is avoided by 7 percent if a second wave hits. However, the world's economics are expected to rebound 2.8 percent in 2021.

Even without a second wave OECD expects the US economy to contract 7.3 percent this year.

In early trading Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139.89 point, or 0.53 percent, to 27,133.71. The S&P 500 fell 0.11 percent. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.65 percent and crossed 10,000.

On Tuesday, the Dow lost 300.14 points, or 1.09 percent, and closed at 27,272.30. The S&P 500 slid 25.21 points, or 0.78 percent, and closed at 3,207.18. The Nasdaq Composite gained 29.01 points, or 0.29 percent, and closed at 9,953.75.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, the world's largest operator of movie theaters, announced plans to reopen them globally in July after closing in mid-March as part of the effort to curb spread of the coronavirus.

The company plans to operate with blocked seating to limit capacity and maintain social distancing at its theaters.

Last week AMC said it had "substantial doubts" about remaining in business if forced to remain closed for an extended period.

AMC said it plans to reopen nearly all of it theaters in the US and the UK in time to show Christopher Nolan's Tenent, scheduled to be released July 17, and Walt Disney Company's Mulan on July 24.

AMC's revenue fell about 21.6 percent to $941.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, about $10 million short of Wall Street's consensus estimate. The company's net loss totaled $2.18 billion as theaters shut down.

Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate, acquired AMC for $2.6 billion in 2012. AMC Entertainment operates about 1,000 theaters with about 11,000 screes in 15 countries around the world.

In early trading Wednesday, AMC's stock gained 9.18 percent

Loan applications increased 5 percent last week from the previous week and were 13 percent higher than the same period a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association, a Washington-based trade organization, reported.

The 30-year fixed rate edged up to 3.38 percent form 3.37 percent, but the uptick didn't reduce demand from homebuyers. Origination fees remained unchanged at 0.30 percent.

Zillow, an online listing service, said inventory declined 25 percent last week from a year earlier. This is likely to result in multiple bids for a house, driving prices higher.

JP Morgan downgraded JetBlue's stock to "underweight" from "neutral" and United Airlines to "neutral" from "overweight" because it doesn't believe the rally in airline stocks can continue much longer.

Delta Air Lines said it will have about $10 billion in cash and borrowing capacity by the end of 2020. It therefore appears well positioned until demand for air travel rebounds.

In early trading Wednesday, JetBlue's stock fell 10.27 percent. United Airlines was down 8.40. Delta lost 8.57 percent.