By Tanya Agrawal
REUTERS - U.S. stocks were off their lows in early afternoon trading on Wednesday as Apple pared some losses, ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Apple's shares were down 5.7 percent at $98.44. They had fallen as much as 8.3 percent after the company posted its first revenue decline in over a decade.
Gains in Boston Scientific, Boeing and Mondelez also helped limit the losses.
Investors are awaiting a Fed decision on rates at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT). No change in rates is expected but the Fed may signal its intention to tighten policy this year.
"Investors have gotten into a wait-and-see mode ahead of the Fed decision," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.
"Globally, things have gotten much better since the last meeting and I think the market is being too complacent regarding a dovish tone from the Fed."
Economists polled by Reuters expect two increases this year but futures prices show traders do not expect rates to rise until late 2016, according to CME Group's FedWatch.
The Fed next meets on June 14-15. While the labor market continues to gain strength, inflation remains below the central bank's 2 percent target and mixed economic data could cloud the path to future rate hikes.
At 12:08 p.m. ET (1608 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was up 18.77 points, or 0.1 percent, at 18,009.09, the S&P 500 was down 2.1 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,089.6 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 39.00 points, or 0.8 percent, at 4,849.29.
Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, with the energy index's 1.11 percent rise leading the advancers.
Oil prices were higher, but still off 2016 highs, after the U.S. government reported U.S. crude stockpiles rose to a record high last week.
Twitter slumped 15 percent to $15.08 after revenue missed expectations. The stock lost about $1.9 billion in value since Tuesday's close.
Disappointing earnings have slowed down a recent rally but the S&P continues to hold near the record high it set almost a year ago. The index has rallied 15 percent since February.
First-quarter earnings from S&P 500 components are expected to have fallen 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Of the 166 companies that have reported, 59 percent reported revenue above analyst expectations, just short of the average 60 percent since 2002.
Ebay was up 3.4 percent at $25.32 after raising its full-year revenue forecast.
Boston Scientific was up 11.1 percent at $21.88, near a 10-year high, after the medical device maker's profit beat estimates. The stock provided the biggest boost to the S&P.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,751 to 1,125. On the Nasdaq, 1,406 issues fell and 1,250 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 18 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 53 new highs and 12 new lows.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Don Sebastian)
