Investing.com – Wall Street showed mixed trading on Wednesday as market players digested the official start of the negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union (EU) for Britain to exit the bloc, known as Brexit, and investors waited for more hints from policymakers on the future path of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
At 11:25AM ET (15:25GMT), the Dow Jones lost 46 points, or 0.22%, the S&P 500 inched up 1 point, or 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 12 points, or 0.21%.
British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed on Wednesday that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty has been triggered, formally beginning the two year process of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU.
Failure to strike a new trade deal before the deadline would force the adoption of World Trade Organization (WTO) arrangements, bringing with it a host of new negotiations and complications that would theoretically leave both parties worse off.
In positive economic data stateside, pending home sales surged 5.5% in February, more than double the forecast, to hit a 10-month high.
Also in the U.S., market players continued to keep an eye on developments for Fed policy tightening.
Though Fed chair Janet Yellen steered away from commentaries on monetary policy or the economic outlook a day earlier, other policymakers were giving their point of view on the economic outlook, the number of rate hikes this year and their considerations for when the central bank will return to balance sheet normalization.
After the market close on Tuesday, Fed governor Jerome Powell indicated that the uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s fiscal policy and its eventual impact on the economy was making it difficult to assess the outlook, while Kansas City Fed president Esther George admitted she was not yet factoring any possible Trump policy changes.
Chicago Fed president Charles Evans reiterated Wednesday that he thought there would be one to two more hikes this year.
"For the first time in quite a while, I see more notable upside risks to growth," he said.
Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren and San Francisco Fed president John Williams were still scheduled for appearances later on Wednesday.
Fed fund futures priced in about a 45% chance for a rate hike to come in June, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. While odds for a move in July narrowly passed the 50% threshold, they rose to around 70% for the September meeting.
In company news, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) soared 23%, leading advancers on the S&P 500, after the biotech firm said its cystic fibrosis treatment met endpoints in two late-stage clinical studies.
Leading decliners, F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV) sank nearly 4% as Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) cut the firm to sell from hold based on its outlook due to stiff competition.
In other big moves, Exar Corporation (NYSE:EXAR) jumped more than 20% as the circuit maker received a buyout offer of about $700 million from MaxLinear Inc (NYSE:MXL).
Shares in RH (NYSE:RH) also climbed more than 13% as the luxury furniture retailer beat on quarterly revenue and provide a first-quarter sales forecast that topped analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped more than 1% with the barrel of West Texas popping back above $49 as U.S. crude inventories rose by just 867,000 barrels, below forecasts for a build of 1.357 million.
U.S. crude futures gained 1.76% to $49.22 by 11:26AM ET (15:26GMT), while Brent oil traded up 1.73% to $51.78.