US STOCKS-Wall Street takes a breather with all eyes on Fed meeting

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* Fed policy statement expected at 2 p.m. ET
* Healthcare rises most among 11 major S&P sectors
* Adobe gains on quarterly results beat
* Dow up 0.15%, S&P off 0.01%, Nasdaq down 0.05%

(Updates prices, comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
June 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes took a pause
on Wednesday, after a rally the previous day, as investors held
back from making big bets ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy
statement that is expected to lay the groundwork for future
interest rate cuts.
Markets have climbed this month, with the S&P 500 .SPX
index gaining 6% so far and 1% away from its all-time high hit
in early May, fueled by hopes of a rate cut.
The Fed's statement and new economic projections are
scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), providing
investors an opportunity to gauge the impact of a prolonged
U.S.-China trade conflict, President Donald Trump's demands for
a rate cut and softer-than-expected economic data on monetary
policy thinking. The U.S. central bank will likely leave rates unchanged but
the market is factoring in a cut as soon as next month. Fed
Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m.
ET (1830 GMT).
"I think the potential for the Fed to disappoint today is
significantly higher than the market expects," said Yousef
Abbasi, global market strategist at INTL FCStone Financial Inc
in New York.
"The Fed has already told us that it's ready to act but with
the metrics we've seen in the economy - yes, they're mixed, but
they're still growing - it just becomes very difficult for
someone to say we absolutely need a rate cut."
U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday, tracking the
European market, after steep falls the previous day, as
investors rebalanced positions ahead of the Fed decision.
The financial sector .SPSY gained 0.40%, with bank stocks
.SPXBK rising 0.15%.
At 11:18 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 39.27 points, or 0.15%, at 26,504.81 and the S&P 500 was
down 0.23 points, or 0.01%, at 2,917.52.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 3.74 points, or 0.05%,
at 7,950.15.
The healthcare sector .SPXHC rose 0.44%, the most among
the 11 major S&P sectors, helped by gains in UnitedHealth Group
Inc UNH.N , Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Allergan Plc AGN.N .
Allergan climbed 4.03% after the drugmaker said its
constipation drug, jointly developed with Ironwood
Pharmaceuticals Inc IRWD.O , improved symptoms of bloating,
pain and discomfort in patients suffering from irritable bowel
syndrome with constipation.
Adobe Inc ADBE.O jumped 4.43% after the Photoshop software
provider beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit and
revenue.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.10-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.30-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 35 new highs and 43 new lows.