US open: Stocks edge slightly higher ahead of Fed policy announcement

Wall Street's main market indices caught a small bid on Wednesday following the release of a batch of stronger-than-expected economic reports.

That followed large declines the day before as investors waited on the Federal Reserve's policy announcement due out later in the session, at 1900 BST.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.04% or 14.49 to 33,699.02, while the S&P 500 added 0.22% or 9.0 points to 4,128.58.

In parallel, the Nasdaq Composite was advancing 0.43% or 51.65 points to 12,132.15.

Oanda market analyst Craig Erlam said investors would be hanging on the Fed's every word in light of recent banking sector instability.

"And yet, it still looks extremely likely [that it will raise rates today] which makes the Fed's communication alongside it all the more important," he said.

"It must now pivot away from promising further rate hikes towards a more neutral stance or we could see further turbulence in financial markets, particularly in those regional banks that still look vulnerable."

Consultancy ADP reported a 296,000 jump in private sector payrolls for April (consensus: 150,000).

But Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics told clients not to bet the farm on a similar outcome in Friday's official release.

He said the strong reading was most likely catch-up after the survey undershot the official number by 519,000 between August and March.

The Institute for Supply Management meanwhile said that its services sector Purchasing Managers' Index improved from a reading of 51.2 for March to 51.9 in April (consensus: 52.0).

On the corporate front, shares of chipmaker AMD were sharply lower after reporting a 30% decline in shipments for the first quarter.

Eli Lilly however was being bid 4% higher after unveiling positive results for its treatment against Alzheimer.

A late-stage trial showed that it slowed cognitive decline by 35%.

CVS Health was 3% lower after cutting its annual profit forecast.

S&P 500 - Risers

Western Union Co. (WU) $11.76 +10.79%

Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $133.43 +10.44%

Unum Group (UNM) $44.69 +9.11%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $203.35 +7.60%

Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $5.20 +5.92%

Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $21.55 +4.87%

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $86.14 +4.77%

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $421.94 +4.39%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $41.15 +4.31%

Danaher Corp. (DHR) $252.35 +3.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $198.36 -19.11%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $106.16 -7.25%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $83.40 -7.24%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $32.38 -3.34%

Progressive Corp. (PGR) $124.06 -3.31%

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $154.98 -3.11%

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $113.43 -3.02%

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $70.64 -2.92%

Extra Space Storage (EXR) $147.29 -2.59%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $359.65 -2.44%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.61 +2.82%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $298.32 +1.37%

Boeing Co. (BA) $206.03 +1.37%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $218.00 +1.32%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.72 +1.11%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.18 +0.98%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $118.92 +0.87%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $195.36 +0.78%

3M Co. (MMM) $103.70 +0.70%

Visa Inc. (V) $228.36 +0.61%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $32.38 -3.34%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $232.34 -1.54%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $125.68 -1.24%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $158.73 -0.82%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $295.83 -0.75%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $490.07 -0.67%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $138.49 -0.31%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.83 -0.29%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $304.65 -0.25%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $164.73 -0.18%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $203.35 +7.60%

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.77 +6.59%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $41.15 +4.31%

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $7.24 +2.84%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.61 +2.82%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $164.79 +2.79%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $12.00 +2.74%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.76 +2.17%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.09 +2.14%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $19.92 +2.10%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $106.16 -7.25%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $32.83 -4.90%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $32.38 -3.34%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $359.65 -2.44%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $41.18 -2.19%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $111.16 -1.80%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $87.54 -1.70%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $68.81 -1.64%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $232.34 -1.54%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $523.02 -1.49%