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U.S. stocks extend gains ahead of Fed statement

Xinhua, September 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session Wednesday as Wall Street eagerly awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on rate hikes.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.69 points, or 0.30 percent, to 18,183.65. The S&P 500 added 6.49 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,146.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 6.82 points, or 0.13 percent, to 5,248.17.

The Fed will make a policy announcement in the afternoon after the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. The central bank, however, is expected to leave rates unchanged this week and not lift again until December.

Overseas, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unveiled its new policy framework Wednesday, saying that it will keep its negative policy rate at minus 0.1 percent while modifying framework of its bond-buying program to guide long-term rate at around 0 percent.

The BOJ also said that it will continue to expand the monetary base until consumer prices exceed 2 percent in a stable way.

Tokyo shares bounced Wednesday after the BOJ announced its decision to modify the framework. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 1.91 percent to 16,807.62.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks pared part of early gains to end slightly higher as the U.S. central bank kicked off its two-day policy meeting. Enditem