NEW YORK (TheStreet) – Stocks were mixed Wednesday, weighed by slumping home sales data as investors await a statement from the Federal Reserve that’s widely expected to keep rates unchanged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 21 points, or 0.2%, to 10,173. The S&P 500 was sliding 1 point, or 0.1%, to 1091, while the Nasdaq was moving 2 points higher, or 0.1%, to 2206.

Stock losses accelerated after the Census Bureau said sales for new homes dipped to a 9-month low last month. New home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, down from an upwardly revised 370,000 in November. The pace was far less brisk than economists had expected, as the consensus had forecast a rise to 366,000 from 355,000.

Mortgage applications also tumbled 11% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group’s index read 513 for the week ended Jan. 22, down from 575.9 the prior week.

Wednesday’s main event will be the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement on interest rates, expected shortly after 2 p.m. EST. Although investors largely expect rates to remain unchanged, they will pay close attention to the statement, analyzing it for any shifts in tone.

Apple(AAPL Quote) will also steal some of the spotlight with the expected release of its new tablet computer product. The Apple tablet is expected to allow consumers to digitally download and view a variety of media.

Caterpillar(CAT Quote) said its fourth-quarter results topped forecasts. Sales, however, missed estimates by falling 39% and guidance underwhelmed. Shares shed 7.5% to $51.69, making it the Dow’s chief laggard.

Fellow blue-chip Boeing(BA Quote) beat Street views, but guided lower than many analysts were anticipating. Leading all advancers on the Dow, shares picked up another 3.7% to $59.87.

General Dynamics(GD Quote) reported largely flat sales and earnings for the fourth quarter, while Piper Jaffray(PJC Quote) swung to a bigger-than-expected profit of 63 cents a share.

In the energy space, ConocoPhillips(COP Quote), the nation’s third biggest oil company, and Hess(HES Quote) beat consensus profit estimates, while refiner Valero Energy(VLO Quote) reported a slimmer-than-anticipated loss in the most recently completed quarter.

After the bell, the market will hear from coal producer Cloud Peak Energy(CLD Quote), which is expected to post a profit of 48 cents a share; Murphy Oil(MUR Quote), which is slated to show earnings of 85 cents a share; and Noble(NE Quote), which is expected to report gains of $1.58 a share.

Sun Microsystems(JAVA Quote) and Norfolk Southern(NSC Quote) also report after the bell. Analysts are anticipating a loss of 2 cents a share and earnings of 84 cents a share, respectively.

The Energy Information Administration said crude inventory levels fell by 3.9 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 22. Analysts polled by Platts were anticipating a rise of 2 million barrels in crude oil stockpiles. Gasoline supplies, however, rose by 2 million barrels, while distillate inventory levels grew by 400,000 barrels. Forecasts called for a 1.7 million barrel build up in gasoline stocks and a 1.8 million barrel draw down in distillates.

Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released industry inventory levels showing a drop in crude oil stockpiles of 2.2 million barrels.

Crude oil for March delivery was trading 39 cents lower at $74.32 a barrel. The most actively traded February gold contract was lower by $6.40 at $1,091.90 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index up 0.1%.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note improved 9/32, pushing the yield lower to 3.588%.

Elsewhere, Toyota(TM Quote) said it plans to suspend sales on eight popular car models because of sticking gas pedals. Toyota was plunging over 7% on the news.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was testifying before the House Oversight Committee in the morning on the government’s bailout of the American International Group(AIG Quote).

Overseas, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.4%, and Japan’s Nikkei was lower by 0.7%. The FTSE in London was trading 1.3% lower, and the DAX in Frankfurt was down 0.6%.

– Written by Melinda Peer and Sung Moss in New York.

If you enjoyed this post then Subscribe to Savvy Investor via RSS