US stocks traded mixed on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision at 2 p.m. while traders continue to hope for signs of progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China before a Dec. 15 Chinese tariff deadline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.49 points to 27,839.23 while the S&P 500 edged up 2.57 points to 3,135.09 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 12.16 points to 8,628.34.

White House adviser Peter Navarro said he had no indication that President Donald Trump will do “anything other than have a great deal or put the tariffs on.”

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, especially in light of last Friday’s strong jobs report, but traders will look for what the central bank says about the domestic economy amid a climate of a global economic slowdown and the continuing uncertainty of a China trade deal.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver remarks shortly after the Fed issues its policy update at 2 p.m.

The consumer price index climbed by 0.3% in November, (versus a 0.4% rise in October) while economists had forecast a 0.2% increase. For the 12-month period ending in November, the consumer price index rose 2.1%.

The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.2% last month. In the 12 months ending November, the core consumer price index increased 2.3%.

The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. crude supplies increased by 800,000 barrels for the week ended Dec. 6. – versus an expected decrease of 2.8 million barrels. The data also revealed supply increases of 5.4 million barrels for gasoline and 4.1 million barrels for distillates.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to win Britain’s general election on Thursday, but his lead has been cut by more than half in a recent poll.

“The markets have become numb to the noise,” Burns McKinney, Allianz Global portfolio manager, told Bloomberg TV. “The [Fed] meeting, the election in the U.K. and then later this week the Dec. 15 deadline are all factors that I think the markets have generally not priced in any bad news.”

Chevron Corp. (CVX) said late Tuesday it will take an after-tax charge of $10 billion to $11 billion in its fourth-quarter results, partly due to a reduced outlook for commodity prices – the charge reflects a write-down of certain unprofitable assets, including some natural-gas projects in Appalachia and Canada. Chevron also said it will consider "strategic alternatives" for its natural-gas assets, including offering them for sale.

On its first day of trading on Wednesday, shares of Saudi Aramco on the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange surged, gaining the 10% daily limit.

Home Depot (HD) forecast fiscal 2020 sales growth of about 3.5% to 4%, which falls below Wall Street expectations. The home improvement chain had already reduced its 2019 sales forecast.

Credit Suisse Group (CS) plans to launch a buyback of up to $1.52 billion next year.

Overnight in Asia, markets finished mixed. The Hang Seng gained 0.79% while Japan’s Nikkei-225 slipped 0.08% and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.24%.

European markets closed higher with the FTSE 100 up 0.03%, Germany's DAX up 0.58% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.22%.

Crude oil futures dropped 1.03% to $58.63 per barrel and Brent crude slipped 1.29% at $63.51. Gold futures rose 0.52%.

The euro was flat at $1.1094 while the pound sterling rose 0.17% at $1.3178.

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