U.S. stocks traded mixed at midday Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision, with Chair Jerome Powell set to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Trade developments continued to influence market sentiment. During a Senate hearing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that initial talks with China will begin in Switzerland later this week, though he emphasized they are only preliminary.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) led notable decliners, plunging over 7% after a Bloomberg report indicated an Apple executive’s testimony suggested AI may be eroding traditional search market share.
The Dow Jones outperformed, while tech-heavy indexes like the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 lagged under pressure from Alphabet’s sharp decline. Sector performance was positive overall, with modest gains led by financials.
In commodities, U.S. natural gas prices at the Henry Hub surged over 5% to $3.640 per million British units, driven by recovering feedgas flows to Freeport LNG and forecasts for early-season heat boosting demand.
Gold retreated 1.5% after a …