U.S. stocks mixed at midday as investors await Fed's policy decision

Alphabet Inc. GOOG 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.

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, although he emphasized they are only preliminary.

Alphabet Inc. (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 report also mentioned that Apple is planning to introduce its own large language model at its annual developer conference in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 0.3%, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid 1.1%. The Nasdaq 100 was lagging significantly due to Alphabet's sharp decline.

Sector performance was positive overall, with a modest gain of 0.1% in the financials sector and a slight decline of 0.2% in the consumer staples sector.

In commodities, U.S. natural gas prices at the Henry Hub soared over 5% to $3.640 per million British thermal units, driven by recovering feedgas flows to Freeport LNG and forecasts for early-season heat boosting demand.

Gold futures fell 1.5% after a strong two-day rally, while oil prices dipped 1.2% to $58.30 per barrel following a brief spike to $60 per barrel overnight.

Bitcoin traded at $96,800, remaining nearly unchanged over the past 24 hours.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

Stocks reacting to earnings included:

* MongoDB Inc (NASDAQ:MDB) rose 13.1% after beating on earnings and revenue.

* Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) gained 9.3% as a strong cybersecurity demand outlook supported the stock.

* Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) dropped 11.4% despite a better-than-expected quarter.

* Box Inc (NASDAQ:BOX) shares declined 8.4%.

* Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) rose 6.4%.

Stocks slated to report earnings after the close include Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT), Axon Enterprise Inc (NASDAQ:AXNX), Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE:TPL), Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO), Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF), and Western Gas Partners LP (NYSE:WES).