US open: Stocks in the green as Fed policy meeting kicks off

dl exchange place wall st street pl new york city nyc ny nyse stock exchange dow jones sp nasdaq finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america — Exchange PlaceSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were in the green at the open on Tuesday as traders remained concerned about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and a spike in Covid-19 cases in China ahead of the Federal Reserve's all-important interest rate decision.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.02% at 33,281.07, while the S&P 500 was 1.41% firmer at 4,232.01 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.08% stronger at 12,842.57.

The Dow opened 335.83 points higher on Tuesday after a flat performance in the previous session as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to heat up and investors prepared for the Fed to raise its target Fed funds rate for the first time in almost four years.

News that Ukrainian capital Kyiv had enforced a 35-hour curfew was in focus early on Tuesday, with the curfew set to start at 2000 EET due to ongoing Russian missile strikes on the city. Russia and Ukraine will supposedly resume ceasefire talks on Tuesday as Moscow nears multiple deadlines on its debt payments.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention was the fact that China was now facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the height of the pandemic, raising fresh concerns regarding the recovery of the global economy moving ahead.

On the macro front, wholesale price pressures in the US edged past forecasts last month amid a spike in energy prices. According to the Department of Labor, the headline rate of the year-on-year increase in total final demand prices was steady versus the month before at 10.0%. In comparison to January however, the 0.8% month-on-month increase in prices was exactly as expected by economists at Barclays.

Elsewhere, manufacturing activity in the New York region declined in March for the first time since early in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The New York Fed's Empire State general business conditions index fell to -11.8 from 3.1 in February. This marked the lowest reading since May 2020 and was below expectations of 7.0. According to the survey, 24% of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 35% said they had worsened.

Still to come, January's net long-term Treasury international capital flows will follow at 2000 GMT.

On another note, the Federal Reserve will begin its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with market participants predicting that the central bank will raise rates by 0.25% - the first interest rate hike since 2019 - in order to combat soaring inflation.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.35 2.96%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $132.84 2.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $232.75 2.90%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $325.22 2.15%
American Express Co. (AXP) $176.27 2.01%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $281.70 1.90%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $132.62 1.88%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $153.27 1.76%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.50 1.64%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $119.34 1.51%