Stocks narrowly mixed ahead of Fed rate decision

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is trading in a tight range as investors avoid making any big bets before the Federal Reserve wraps up a meeting where it is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Investors will be looking to the Fed’s assessment of the economy for signs of recovery because the central bank’s policymakers are widely expected to keep rates steady.

Traders could also be cautious before a government report on new home sales. Stocks were unable to hold onto early gains Tuesday after sales of existing homes fell unexpectedly in May.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 12.70, or 0.1 percent, at 10,306.22. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 0.02, or less than 0.1 percent, at 1,095.29, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 2.18, or 0.1 percent, at 2,259.62.