Markets Are Quiet Ahead Of The Big Fed Announcement

Markets are quiet ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement, expected at 2:00 pm EST.

The Dow is down 18 points, the S&P 500 is up 1 point, and the Nasdaq is unchanged.

All eyes today are on the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee.

The FOMC is largely expected to continue tapering its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion, composed of a $5 billion reduction in the purchase of agency mortgage backed securities and a $5 billion reduction in its purchase of Treasuries.

The benchmark interest rate is also expected to remain between 0% and 0.25%.

The Fed will release its policy statement and latest Summary of Economic Projections at 2:00 pm EST, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen expected to hold a press conference a 2:30.

Among the things Fed watchers will be looking for include any increase in the pace of the Fed's taper, and any clues from Yellen as to when the Fed may consider raising interest rates.

The "Dot Plot," which is included in the Fed's Economic Projections, will also be closely watched, as it shows expectations for year-end interest rates through 2016 from FOMC members.

In corporate news, FedEx shares are up better than 4% after the shipping giant reported better than expected earnings and revenue. FedEx, however, cut its outlook for 2014 U.S. GDP to 2.2% from 2.6%.

Shares of ConAgra Foods are down more than 6% after the company said its fourth quarter earnins will miss expectations.