U.S. stocks trade higher as Fed meeting starts

NEW YORK, March 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 146.58 points, or 0.60 percent, to 24,757.49. The S&P 500 increased 5.57 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,718.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.95 points, or 0.24 percent, to 7,362.19.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its rate-hike decision on Wednesday. Market expectations for a March rate-hike are 94.4 percent as of Tuesday morning, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

While most market participants expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points, they will also look for clues about whether the central bank will stay on track to hike three times this year or if it expects to further tighten policy.

U.S. equities rebounded on Tuesday after sharp declines in the previous session. All three indices slumped over 1 percent on Monday amid political turmoil inside the Trump administration.

U.S. media said that the mood inside the White House has verged on mania and anxiety in recent days due to the president's increasing interest in sacking people around him.

In corporate news, shares of Facebook plunged nearly 7 percent on Monday after reports showed that political analytics firm Cambridge Analytica was able to collect data on 50 million people's profiles without their consent, which was widely seen as another indication of the social media giant's systemic problems.

The company's stock plunged another 4.1-percent around midday on Tuesday. Enditem