12:40 PM EDT, 03/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes traded little changed as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's economic projections later on Wednesday to gauge the mood among policymakers for interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 decreased less than 0.1% to 5,175.6, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average unchanged at 39,110.3 and the Nasdaq Composite 0.1% lower at 16,149.8. Industrials led the gainers while energy was the steepest decliner intraday.

The Fed will announce its rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Chair Jerome Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m. While the Fed is almost guaranteed to leave rates unchanged, Powell will provide clues on the policy path ahead in the press conference. The dot plot may downshift to two rate cuts this year from three previously set out in the December projections, reflecting recent hotter-than-expected inflation data for February.

The US Treasury two-year yield fell 1.1 basis points to 4.68%, and the 10-year yield slipped 1.1 basis points to 4.29%.

There are several price pressures in the pipeline, which has led to fresh doubts about whether the markets will get rate cuts by the summer, said Deutsche Bank in a note. There are increasing signs that investors are pricing this scenario in, with US 1-year inflation swaps inching up to 2.64%, their highest level since October, even as bond yields eased off from Monday's 3-month highs, as per the note.

In economic news, mortgage applications fell for the first time in three weeks as rates across most loan types rose, following February's stronger-than-expected inflation print, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The market composite index, which measures loan application volume, fell 1.6% for the week ended March 15. The move followed a 7.1% gain the week before. Without adjustments, the index ticked down 1%.

In company news, Equinix ( EQIX ) shares slumped 4% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after short-seller Hindenburg accused the company of manipulating its accounting. A representative for Equinix ( EQIX ) told MT Newswires that the company is "investigating the claims and will respond in due course."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.1% to $81.69 per barrel intraday.