The worst drop in confidence in three years raised worries about the U.S. economy, but it also raised expectations for the Federal Reserve to deliver another dose of bigger-than-usual relief through a big cut to interest rates at its next meeting.

Investors turned their attention to China and Switzerland as the next central banks to add vim to the global economy

AP’s earlier story follows below. Trading on Wall Street was quietly mixed before the opening bell Wednesday as markets hovered around record highs. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were essentially unchanged from Tuesday's close.