US STOCKS-Wall Street pauses with Fed meeting in focus

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* All eyes on Fed statement, Powell's speech
* Financials rise most among 11 major S&P sectors
* Adobe gains on quarterly results beat
* Dow gains 0.22%, S&P up 0.07%, Nasdaq off 0.08%

(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
June 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were flat on
Wednesday, as investors refrained from taking positions ahead of
the Federal Reserve's policy statement that is expected to open
the door to future interest rate cuts.
Bets of a rate cut have helped markets climb in June, with
the S&P 500 .SPX index gaining 6% so far this month and about
1% away from its all-time high hit in early May.
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. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30
p.m. ET (1830 GMT).
The U.S. central bank will likely leave rates unchanged but
is likely to indicate whether it plans to cut rates later this
year. The financial sector .SPSY gained 0.63%, with bank
stocks .SPXBK rising 0.76%.
"Expectations remain elevated over a rate cut in July and
investors will be closely scrutinizing the statement for
confirmation of a cut next month," said Lukman Otunuga, a
research analyst at ForexTime Limited in London.
"Should the Fed sound less dovish than expected or
completely omit any hints about taking action next month, it
could send equity markets sliding."
Global financial markets have been fired up by European
Central Bank President Mario Draghi's Tuesday volte-face on
policy easing and as investors bet on a worldwide wave of
central bank stimulus.
At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 58.02 points, or 0.22%, at 26,523.56 and the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 2.17 points, or 0.07%, at 2,919.92.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 6.74 points, or 0.08%,
at 7,947.14.
The healthcare sector .SPXHC rose 0.4%, helped by gains in
UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N , Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Allergan
Plc AGN.N .
Shares of Allergan gained 3.7% 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 3.7% after the Photoshop software
provider beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit and
revenue. TripAdvisor Inc TRIP.O gained 1.2% after SunTrust Robinson
upgraded the company's stock to "buy."
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.00-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 23 new lows.