- US markets slightly up ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting
- FedEx results disappoint markets

Dow: +0.25%
S&P 500: +0.08%
NASDAQ: +0.10%

US stocks fluctuated within a narrow range on Wednesday morning as investors awaited the result of a crucial European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

Investors have been expecting the ECB to launch some kind of bond buying program since early August. Leaks ahead of the meeting suggest the plan is to buy short term bonds (up to three years maturity) of distressed countries like Spain and Italy in the secondary market, while also selling similar assets "back" into the market in a process known as sterilization.

The idea is to reduce the interest rates Spain and Italy have to pay to borrow money while avoiding the inflationary risks that can arise if too much money is pumped into Europe's financial system.

Hopes that such a plan might end the current Eurozone debt crisis have been enough to offset news of a poor performance by bellwether stock FedEx.

FedEx lower after profit warning

At 12:26 FedEx shares had fallen 1.4% after the firm reduced its profit forecast for the third quarter. It would be the first decline in quarterly earnings since the end of 2009 and suggests the US economy is not doing well. Because FedEx is the country's biggest shipping service, it is a good indicator of the nation's economic health.

Facebook, the disaster stock of 2012, actually rose 4.8% after the company revealed its founder Mark Zuckerberg is unlikely to sell his shares for at least 12 months. Nevertheless, the most hyped IPO in years has still fallen 51% since the offering in May.

BS

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