- US stocks rose slightly as traders brace for the Fed's next rate move.
- Markets are pricing in 87% odds the US central bank will hike by 25 basis points.
US stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve's next big policy decision.
All eyes will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's news conference this afternoon for signals about future rate moves.
Traders are pricing in an 87.4% chance the central bank will hike rates by 25 basis points, data from the CME Group's FedWatch tool shows. That would mark the 10th increase in borrowing costs since March of 2022.
Investors also have their eyes on corporate earnings. Apple is slated to report first-quarter results after the market close on Thursday.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,125.57, up 0.15%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,703.74, up 0.06% (19.21 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 12,094.46, up 0.12%
Here's what else happened today:
- Here's how elite investors are planning to capitalize on the looming US credit crunch.
- Bridgewater Associates' co-CIO warned that the Fed might still not have won its battle against inflation even though it's about to raise interest rates for the 10th time in a row.
- Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Matt Gaetz introduced a bill that would prohibit Congressional lawmakers from trading individual stocks.
- David Rosenberg said the inflation threat has faded and the US economy is now facing two big risks — a debt default and banking crisis.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3% to $69.53 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 2.8% to $73.24.
- Gold rose 0.15% to $2,026 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 5 basis points to 3.39%.
- Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $28,342.