Stocks are opening mostly lower ahead of a statement from the Federal Reserve and a news conference by its chairman.
The Fed will offer details Wednesday about how long it plans to keep interest rates very low. It also will release an economic forecast. Later, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will take questions from reporters.
Traders continue to monitor negotiations between Greece and its private bondholders aimed at reducing the nation’s crushing debt load.
Apple Inc. is up 6.9 percent after reporting its best quarter ever.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 49 points, or 0.4 percent, at 12,626 shortly after the start of trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 4, or 0.3 percent, at 1,310. The Nasdaq is up 13, or 0.5 percent, at 2,799.