US open: Major indices trade higher ahead of Fed interest rate decision

dl wall street wall st new york city new york stock exchange nyse dow jones nasdaq street sign nyc united states usa america pb — Sharecast / Alessandro D Andrea via Pixabay

Major indices were in the green early on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve Bank's latest interest rate policy meeting.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28% at 40,855.57, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.53% to 5,519.36 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.33% firmer at 17,547.50.

The Dow opened 112.24 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as Q2 corporate earnings season began to pick up steam.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, due out at 1900 BST, with the central bank broadly expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady. However, market participants will be firmly focussed on chairman Jerome Powell's speech to gauge whether he offers any hints as to the future of interest rate policy.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 3.9% in the fourth week of July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 2.2% drop to record the steepest weekly decline in almost two months. Applications to purchase a home fell by 1.5% for a third weekly decline in a row, while those to refinance a mortgage tanked by 7.2% week-on-week.

On another note, the Chicago purchasing managers index fell to 45.3 in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management. July's reading was down from a seven-month high of 47.4 in June but came in above analysts' expectations for a print of 44.8.

Still on data, private sector employment in the US rose less than expected in July, according to figures released on Wednesday by ADP. Employment increased by 122,000 from June, versus expectations for a 150,000 jump. June’s gain was revised from 150,000 to 155,000. The service sector added 85,000 jobs, while the goods-producing sector saw a 37,000 increase.

Finally, pending home sales rose in June for the first time in the last three months, according to the National Association of Realtors, driven by an improvement in supply and a slight moderation in mortgage rates. The pending home sales index surged 4.8% month-on-month in June to 74.3, ahead of expectations for a 1.5% increase. On an annualised basis, pending home sales were down 2.6%.

In the corporate space, Advanced Micro Devices were higher in early trade after the chipmaker posted Q2 results that topped consensus estimates. AI-darling Nvidia also traded higher on AMD's earnings report.

Boeing shares flew higher on the back of its announcement that Robert Ortberg would take over as chief executive, while Humana shares headed south on the back of some weak guidance.

Carvana and Qualcomm will report earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $12.14 2.28%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $222.36 1.56%
Boeing Co. (BA) $188.68 0.97%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $260.34 0.93%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.08 0.73%
Visa Inc. (V) $265.00 0.72%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.77 0.61%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.49 0.59%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $160.25 0.43%
American Express Co. (AXP) $253.41 0.37%