US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall Street opens flat ahead of Powell speech

U.S. stock indexes opened flat on Wednesday ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that will be closely watched for signs of a slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes by the central bank.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.45 points, or 0.01%, at 3,957.18, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 11.42 points, or 0.10%, to 10,995.20 at the opening bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.10 points, or 0.17%, at the open to 33,795.43.