Stocks opened slightly lower for trading on Wednesday morning,
Near 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 3 points, the S&P 500 was unchanged, and the Nasdaq was up 11.
The S&P 500 crossed above 2,100 for the first time in four weeks on Tuesday.
Near noon today, Fed chair Janet Yellen will give a speech at the Economics Club of Washington. She'll also testify on the economy before a joint committee of Congress on Thursday. These will be her last public speeches before the Fed's meeting later this month.
"Dr. Yellen won't say anything which could be interpreted as seeking to front-run the outcome of the meeting; that's not her style," wrote Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson to clients. "But we expect her clearly to repeat that the Fed's decision will depend on whether progress has been made since October towards the Fed's twin objectives of maximum employment and 2% inflation."
The Fed's beige book with economic anecdotes from its districts will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Earlier today, ADP's private payrolls report showed growth by 217,000 in November, beating the forecast for 190,000.