12:30 PM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes traded mixed after midday Tuesday as the countdown began for the Federal Reserve's economic projections and outlook for interest rates this year.

The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 5,152.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% higher at 38,989.6. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the intraday trend, declining 0.2% to 16,068.2. Communication services led the decliners intraday, while energy was the biggest gainer.

The two-day monetary policy meeting began Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates likely on Wednesday afternoon. While the Fed will likely leave borrowing costs at current levels, it will provide cues on its monetary policy path ahead. The dot plot may downshift to two cuts this year from three previously set out in December, reflecting recent hotter-than-expected inflation data for February.

The US Treasury two-year yield fell 3.4 basis points to 4.70%, and the 10-year yield declined 3.4 basis points to 4.31%.

In economic news Tuesday, Redbook US same-store sales rose 3.4% from a year ago in the week ended March 16, following a 3% increase in the previous week.

February housing starts rebounded from the previous month to a 1.521 million annual rate, above the 1.440 million forecast in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and 1.374 million reported in January.

In company news, International Paper ( IP ) said Tuesday it named Andrew Silvernail as chief executive officer, effective May 1. Silvernail joined from KKR (KKR), an investment firm. Shares of International Paper ( IP ) surged nearly 10% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) was shedding 9.6% intraday, the laggard on the S&P 500, after the firm said it filed a registration statement for the sale of 2 million shares of its common stock.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $83.59 per barrel intraday.