Stocks Rise Ahead of Fed Decision
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as traders monitor the latest developments in the Middle East and brace for the Federal Reserve’s latest rate policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 213.53 points to commence Wednesday at 42,429.33.
The S&P 500 index picked up 29.41 points to 6,012.13.
The NASDAQ Composite strengthened 113.45 points, to 19,634.54.
Meta Platforms is reportedly poaching staff from OpenAI with lucrative signing bonuses that have totaled as much as $100 million U.S. Meta shares galloped $2.89 to $700.12.
Stocks are coming off a downbeat session Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict mounted.
The attacks between the two countries entered their sixth day Wednesday as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Iran won’t surrender and warned that the U.S. will “undoubtedly be met with irreparable damage” if it enters the conflict.
This comes after President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform Tuesday to threaten the Iranian leader, saying that “our patience is wearing thin” and calling for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Current and former administration officials also told NBC News that Trump is weighing options on Iran, including whether to launch a military strike.
The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is due at 2 p.m. ET. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, but investors will be keeping a close eye on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were mildly higher, pushing yields lower to 4.37% from Tuesday’s 4.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 80 cents to $74.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave up $3.80 to $3,403.10 U.S. an ounce.
