U.S. stocks opened lower, putting markets on course for another day of bumpy trading, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and parsed a docket of earnings.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.7%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.0%.

General Electric fell over 4% in premarket trading after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $3.8 billion, while Raytheon Technologies declined 3.3% after posting quarterly revenue that missed analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, 3M shares rose 0.8% after the company reported a better-than-expected performance.

Turbulent TimesThe VIX—a measure of expected volatility that is sometimes dubbed Wall Street's fear gauge—has risen​sharply in recent daysThe CBOE Volatility Index, or VIXSource: FactSet... Read More: WSJ