NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors are awaiting a key announcement on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve (Fed).

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 42.28 points, or 0.16 percent, to 27,034.54. The S&P 500 rose 0.38 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,997.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 4.96 points, or 0.06 percent, to 8,158.51.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors gained in midday trading, with real estate and utilities up 1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, leading the gainers. Energy struggled on Tuesday after a massive rally in the previous session.

The Fed's September monetary policy meeting kicked off on Tuesday and the central bank is expected to announce its latest decision on interest rate Wednesday afternoon. Markets are betting high on further rate-cut moves.

Market expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut were at about 60 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"The rate cuts we expect in the fourth quarter reflect our conviction that employment will continue to slow, consumption will also fade and global crosscurrents will continue," Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said in a note on Tuesday.

U.S. equities tumbled on Monday as drone attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia over the weekend intensified fears of global economic slowdown. Enditem

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