Tech stocks tumble as traders await the Fed's economic outlook and cues on interest rates

• US stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down over 1% as investors awaited comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell.
• The Federal Open Market Committee will release its economic projections and its policy decision at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
• Data on Wednesday showed housing starts fell by 10.3% to 1.421 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis, a larger fall than anticipated.

US stocks were mostly lower Wednesday, with technology shares bearing the brunt of the losses before investors tune in to the Federal Reserve for indications about when it will start raising interest rates that were slashed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technology shares as tracked on Nasdaq indexes fell by more than 1% while the 10-year Treasury yield spiked higher and approached levels not seen since January 2020, before the coronavirus crisis accelerated in the US.

The rise in borrowing costs has catalyzed a rotation out of high-flying growth stocks and into cyclical stocks that should benefit from the reopening of the economy.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its economic projections and its policy decision at 2 pm Eastern Time. The rate-setting board is not expected to make any changes to the interest rate range of zero to 0.25% at this meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 pm Eastern.

"To say the balancing act the FOMC finds itself in is delicate would be an understatement." Bespoke Investment Group said early Wednesday noting that "Treasury yields spiked higher and the Pavlovian response in the equity futures markets was to hit the bids sending futures sharply lower. Powell sure has his work cut out for him," they said.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 3,947.59, down 0.38%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,933.77, up 0.33% (107.82 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 13,307.46, down 1.21%

Before the start of trading, data showed housing starts fell by 10.3% to 1.421 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis, a larger fall than anticipated.

In equities, Uber fell 2.9% after the company said late Tuesday it will reclassify drivers in the United Kingdom as "workers," guaranteeing them minimum wage, paid vacation and other benefits.

And legendary investor Bill Gross said he's betting against GameStop stock again after walking away from January's wild volatility with $10 million.

Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped as much as 1.7%, to $63.68 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, tumbled 1.7%, to $67.23, at intraday lows.

Gold slid as much as 0.3%, to $1,725.80 per ounce, as US treasury yields eased.