Wall Street stocks opened higher early on Wednesday as market participants awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision with bated breath.
As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 34,243.84, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.57% to 4,042.50 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.59% firmer at 11,323.62.
The Dow opened 135.20 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session after November’s all-important inflation report seemed to indicate that inflation may be peaking.
Wednesday’s primary focus will be on the Federal Reserve and its interest rate decision at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to deliver a 50 basis-point rate hike at 1900 GMT, smaller than the four consecutive 75 basis-point increases. Chairman Jerome Powell will also speak at 1930 GMT, with investors likely to look for further hints as to what may be coming from the Fed in the new year.
Cooler-than-expected inflation data also remained in focus, as energy and used vehicle prices continued to retreat and led the year-on-year rate of increase in the headline consumer price index to slip to 7.1%.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications rose 3.2% in the week ended 9 December, the first increase in three weeks and the highest gain in three months. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the purchase index increased 4% month-on-month, while the refinancing one jumped 2.8%.
In the corporate space, carrier Delta Air Lines traded higher after revealing that 2023 earnings looked set to roughly double amid “robust” travel demand.
Still to come, Lennar and Trip.com were both slated to publish earnings after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones – Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $260.73 1.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $154.07 1.20%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $336.73 1.15%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $180.90 0.94%
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) $276.82 0.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $214.92 0.88%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $64.50 0.80%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.99 0.72%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $541.90 0.68%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $188.29 0.66%
Dow Jones – Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $366.23 -0.67%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $40.92 -0.28%
American Express Co. (AXP) $157.20 -0.20%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $272.04 -0.08%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.63 -0.07%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $147.45 -0.03%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $112.83 -0.02%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.58 0.04%
S&P 500 – Risers
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $261.11 2.58%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $103.81 2.21%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $34.08 2.11%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $104.16 1.90%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $46.63 1.83%
Eversource Energy (ES) $87.41 1.70%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $81.91 1.68%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $580.47 1.65%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $92.02 1.58%
Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $131.46 1.56%
S&P 500 – Fallers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $340.47 -13.30%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $81.95 -2.52%
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $108.29 -2.52%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $35.78 -2.52%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $18.48 -2.38%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $32.64 -2.30%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $17.15 -1.78%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $146.89 -1.71%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $36.20 -1.68%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $257.55 -1.66%
Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $34.54 3.66%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $72.19 3.14%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $103.81 2.21%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $104.16 1.90%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $580.47 1.65%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $142.78 1.56%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $125.37 1.52%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $260.73 1.48%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.71 1.46%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $179.85 1.42%
Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $340.47 -13.30%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $35.78 -2.52%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.23 -1.81%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $19.83 -1.49%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $93.55 -0.89%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $159.54 -0.88%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $16.01 -0.87%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $623.11 -0.82%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $73.10 -0.81%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $863.67 -0.80%
