Stock futures are little changed Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures shed 0.1%, and Nasdaq-100 futures slid 0.2%. Stocks have been teetering between slight gains and losses in recent sessions as investors await this week’s key Fed meeting, which is the final one of the year. The Fed is widely expected to deliver its third straight interest rate cut of a quarter percentage point, with fed funds futures suggesting a roughly 90% chance of a decrease, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. Sentiment among members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee remains divided, however, as some favor cuts to stave off further labor market weakness and others believe another cut could worsen inflation. Investors are looking to gauge members’ sentiment from the post-meeting statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated news conference Wednesday afternoon.  The previous session saw lackluster moves in the broader market. The S&P 500 closed down 0.1% on Tuesday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 0.4%, weighed down by losses in JPMorgan shares. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added about 0.1%, lifted by gains in Broadcom, Tesla and Google parent Alphabet. A sector rotation has emerged, however. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap companies hit a fresh all-time intraday high on Tuesday, strengthened by the prospect of upcoming rate cuts. Smaller companies tend to benefit from rate cuts because their borrowing costs are more linked to market rates, and could therefore boost their profit margins. Wells Fargo Investment Institute global equity strategist Doug Beath noted that the Russell 2000 is underperforming the S&P 500 this year, but has rallied since Nov. 21 and outperformed the broad-market index since that date. “The favorable change for small-cap equities is consistent with our view that equity market breadth is widening,” Beath said. “We believe investors are looking beyond the current economic soft patch in anticipation of accelerating economic growth through 2026 because of positive secular trends already in place — tax cuts that will deliver what should be the largest refunds since 2021, deregulation, more Fed rate cuts, and continued technology capex growth.” U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Wednesday as investors keenly anticipated the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, set to take place early afternoon. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 1 basis point to 4.204%. The 30-year Treasury yield was up 1 basis point at 4.819%, while the 2-year Treasury yield nudged higher by more than a basis point to 3.625%. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors parsed China’s inflation data and awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was last trading 0.22% higher, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.14% lower at 4,591.83 after China’s consumer prices edged up 0.7% from a year earlier, it’s highest level since February last year. The increase followed a 0.2% rise in October and matched the 0.7% gain expected in a Reuters poll of economists. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,579.4. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.1% to 50,602.8 while the Topix added 0.12% to 3,389.02. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.21% to 4,135, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.39% to 935. Oil prices steadied on Wednesday as investors watched for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and awaited a decision on U.S. interest rates. After declines of about 1% in the previous session, Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $62.01 a barrel by 1039 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $58.35. Market sources citing API figures said on Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.78 million barrels last week while gasoline stocks rose by 7 million barrels and distillate inventories swelled by 1.03 million barrels. Gold prices edged down on Wednesday as investors awaited an expected U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut and clues on future policy, while silver extended its rally to new highs. Spot gold was down 0.4% to $4,193.60 per ounce at 1113 GMT. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were down 0.3% to $4,221.60 per ounce. Spot silver was up 0.7% at $61.11/oz after hitting an all-time high of $61.61 earlier in the session, driven by rising industrial demand, declining inventories, and its designation as a critical mineral by the United States. The white metal has risen 112% so far this year. “Silver broke above the $60 per ounce mark, luring more short-term speculators and trend followers into the market. This also reflects the narrative of physical tightness in the silver market,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.