Stocks inched up on Wednesday as Wall Street braced for the Federal Reserve’s first potential rate hike since the recent fallout in the banking sector.
The Dow Jones Industrials advanced 38.47 points to 32,599.07.
The S&P 500 acquired 8.86 points to 4,011.73.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 31.52 points to 11,891.62.
The Fed is slated to conclude its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, with an announcement expected for 2 p.m. ET. Most investors expect the central bank to stay committed to its tightening and raise rates by 25 basis points. As of Wednesday morning, there is about an 90% chance of a quarter-point increase by the Fed. Meanwhile, there’s a roughly 10% probability of there being no hike.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 3.60%.
Oil prices faded 37 cents to $69.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved forward $6.70 to $1,947.80 U.S. an ounce.