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U.S. stocks narrowly mixed at midday ahead of Fed meeting

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks pared early gains to trade mixed around midday on Monday, as investors were looking for clues to the monetary policy from the Federal Reserve later in the week.

At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38.97 points, or 0.22 percent, to 18,119.11. The S&P 500 edged up 1.50 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,119.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 4.72 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5,087.37.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, with an updated policy statement slating for release after the conclusion of the two-day meeting.

Some analysts expected that the Fed will not raise interest rates until September at the earliest, because of the recent string of weak data.

Wall Street also focused on Apple's financial results, which were due after Monday's closing bell. The tech giant's shares jumped 1.87 percent around midday, as analysts have grown increasingly bullish about Apple.

On the economic front, financial data firm Markit reported Monday that its flash reading of Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector slipped to 57.8 in April from a final reading of 59.2 in March.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index refreshing their record closing highs, as major earnings reports came out generally positive.

The Nasdaq set a new closing record for the first time in 15 years on Thursday, fueled by surges from tech corporations. Endite