US Stocks Open Higher Ahead Of Fed Decision, Dow Jumps 175 Points

U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining around 175 points on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. The country’s central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 bps at the meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.57% to 30,881.09 while the NASDAQ rose 0.32% to 11,461.48. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.60% to 3,878.89.

Also check this: Market Volatility Increases Sharply Ahead Of Fed's Rate Decision

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose by 1.3% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Sunnova Energy International Inc. NOVA, up 2% and American States Water Company AWR up 3%.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell by 0.2%.

Top Headline

Existing home sales in the US fell 0.4% to an annual rate of 4.8 million in August, recording the lowest reading since May 2020, and compared to a revised 5.7% decline in the previous month.

Equities Trading UP

• Stabilis Solutions, Inc. SLNG shares shot up 100% to $10.34 after the company announced it has received authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas to all free trade and non-free trade countries.
• Shares of FTAI Infrastructure Inc. FIP got a boost, shooting 13% to $2.9493. Compass Point initiated coverage on FTAI Infrastructure with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $7.
• DarioHealth Corp. DRIO shares were also up, gaining 9% to $4.2150. DarioHealth, on Tuesday, announced two new employer contracts.

Equities Trading DOWN

• SOBR Safe, Inc. SOBR shares tumbled 32% to $2.0694. SOBR Safe shares surged 233% on Tuesday following a report suggesting The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that NHTSA require passive alcohol-detection systems.
• Shares of ShiftPixy, Inc. PIXY were down 34% to $14.15 after the company announced pricing of a $5 million private placement.
• Mobile Global Esports Inc. MGAM was down, falling 24% to $2.33 after the company announced a $5 million private placement priced at-the-market.

Also check out: Fear Among US Investors Is Increasing, Here's Why

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.3% to $84.20, while gold traded up 0.6% at $1,680.30.

Silver traded up 1.4% to $19.455 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.9% to $3.4705.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.3%. The German DAX gained 0.1%, French CAC 40 rose 0.2% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.6%.

Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, in the UK came in at £11.8 billion for August.

Economics

• Existing home sales in the US fell 0.4% to an annual rate of 4.8 million in August, recording the lowest reading since May 2020, and compared to a revised 5.7% decline in the previous month.
• The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
• The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. The country’s central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 bps at the meeting.
• Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Check out this: Bitcoin Declines Below $19,000; Here Are The Top Crypto Movers For Wednesday

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 97,594,680 cases with around 1,079,200 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,547,590 cases and 528,400 deaths, while France reported over 34,973,410 COVID-19 cases with 154,790 deaths. In total, there were at least 618,209,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,533,620 deaths.