Financial Markets                      12/10 09:43

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market remains largely quiet on Wednesday as 
Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say in the afternoon 
about where interest rates may be heading.

   The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% in early trading and remains near its all-time 
high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 88 
points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 
0.5% lower.

   Among the market's few big movers was GE Vernova, which flew 15% higher 
after raising its forecast for revenue and other financial measures through 
2028.

   Cracker Barrel Old Country Store sank 2.1%. It reported better results for 
the latest quarter than analysts expected but also cut its forecast for revenue 
this fiscal year, as well as for an underlying measure of earnings.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields largely held steady as the countdown 
ticks toward the Fed's announcement at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The widespread 
expectation is that it will cut its main interest rate for a third time this 
year in hopes of bolstering the job market.

   That expectation is so strong that U.S. stock prices have already run to the 
edge of their records because of it. The more important question for Wall 
Street will be what Fed officials will say about where they see interest rates 
potentially heading in 2026.

   Wall Street has been bracing for Fed officials to imply fewer cuts to rates 
in 2026 than this year, and potentially fewer than the two that many traders 
are expecting now, even after they downgraded their forecasts.

   While lower interest rates can boost the economy and send prices for 
investments higher, they can also worsen inflation.

   With inflation remaining stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target, Fed officials 
are notably split about whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the 
bigger threat to the economy.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.18%, where 
it was late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations 
for the Fed, held steady at 3.61%.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements 
across Europe and Asia.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

   ---------

   itemid:27ae743a2289c9870b0be4d2ddd6589a