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U.S. stocks rise as Fed meeting begins

Xinhua, December 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with all three major indices refreshing closing records, as investors focused on a key policy meeting from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 114.78 points, or 0.58 percent, to 19,911.21. The S&P 500 added 14.76 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,271.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 51.29 points, or 0.95 percent, to 5,463.83.

The U.S. central bank kicked off its two-day December policy meeting on Tuesday. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point, but the Federal Open Market Committee may struggle to communicate what it will do next.

"Rates are likely to rise tomorrow, of course, but the increase is more reactive than preemptive," said chief economist at FTN Financial Chris Low on Tuesday.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a December rate hike were 95.4 percent.

On the economic front, U.S. import prices fell 0.3 percent in November, following 0.4 percent increase in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. U.S. export prices edged down 0.1 percent in November, after a 0.2-percent increase the previous month.

Overseas, European equities posted solid gains Tuesday amid Fed meeting. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange leapt 0.84 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index jumped 1.13 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks rebounded on Tuesday from Monday's surprisingly big loss, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going up 0.07 percent to 3,155.04 points. Endit