Stocks are indicated mixed early Wednesday, with cautious trading expected ahead of new home sales data and the FOMC interest rate announcement. Less than an hour before the opening bell, stock index futures indicate that both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ will open little changed.

Index futures are flat as investors await a report on New Home Sales, due at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists expect to see improvement — to an annual rate of 366,000 homes in December, up from 355,000 the month before.

Investors are also waiting for word from the Fed. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee [FOMC] wraps up a two-day meeting and issues a statement at 14:15. No changes in rates are expected, but the post-meeting message will be scrutinized for clues regarding future policy.

Bonds are steady in early pit trading ahead of the Fed. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is flat and its yield unchanged at 3.62 percent.

The dollar slipped .21 to 89.42 against the Japanese yen and the euro edged down .0009 to 1.4063 against the buck.

Meanwhile, crude oil is flat at $74.70 a barrel ahead of weekly inventory data (10:30) and gold lost $6.6 to $1091.70 an ounce.

Among the stocks to watch, Dow component Caterpillar (CAT) fell 4.5 percent after posting earnings that beat Street estimates, but revenues that fell short of expectations.

Yahoo (YHOO) gained 2.7 percent after posting a quarterly profit of 11 cents per share, which was in-line with analyst expectations. Rockwell (ROK), Altera (ALTR), and Gilead Sciences (GILD) are also up on earnings. AK Steel (AKS) added 2 percent after Goldman upgraded the steelmaker to Buy. Dow components AT&T (T), P&G (PG), and 3M (MMM) might see action today ahead of earnings, due tomorrow morning before the bell.