The tech-heavy Nasdaq, by contrast, hit a record high for the fourth straight session, with gains for Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, and Microsoft Corp driving a rally which has taken the index back into bull market territory.
The Fed concludes its regular two-day meeting later on Wednesday, with investors set to parse the outcome for signs on how long the central bank plans to maintain its ultra-loose policy along with any plans to introduce yield control measures aimed at U.S. Treasuries.
A surge of more than 45 percent in the three main U.S. stock indexes, since falling sharply in March, has been underpinned by unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus measures and resulting hopes of an economic rebound.
The benchmark S&P 500 is about 5.5 percent below its all-time high.
Any hint that the Fed could rein in stimulus could derail the stock market’s recovery in the past month.
“The market wants assurance that the Fed is not going to step in and stunt or slow the recovery,” said Kevin Miller, chief investment officer at E-valuator Funds in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The global economy will suffer the biggest peacetime downturn in a century before it emerges next year from a recession, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday.
At 10:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 181.67 points, or 0.67 percent, at 27,090.63, the S&P 500 was down 7.07 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,200.11.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 65.23 points, or 0.66 percent, at 10,018.98.
Interest rate-sensitive financial stocks slipped, tracking a fall in U.S. Treasury yields. The energy sector shed 3.6 percent, as oil prices weakened after a rise in U.S. crude inventories raised oversupply concerns.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc jumped 7 percent after saying it expects to reopen its movie theaters globally in July.
The S&P 1500 airlines index slumped 9.6 percent as J.P.Morgan analysts said the current pace of rise in U.S. airline stocks cannot be maintained for much longer.
Starbucks Corp slipped 4 percent as it expected current-quarter operating income to plunge by up to $2.2 billion, as well as sales declines for the rest of the year.
Apparel retailer Guess Inc dropped 22 percent after posting downbeat quarterly revenue and flagging a similar decline in second-quarter revenue, hurt by store closures and lower demand.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.74-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.80-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and no new lows.
