Stocks Rose Modestly ahead of Fed Rate Decision

U.S. stocks rose modestly in early trading on Wednesday ahead of a widely predicted interest rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 49.73 points, or 0.19%, to 26,541.94. The S&P 500 gained 5.47 points, or 0.19%, to 2,921.03. The Nasdaq Composite added 14.13 points, or 0.18%, to 8,021.60.

Oil futures slipped early Wednesday after an inventory report showed an increase in supplies and as President Donald Trump reiterated a call for an increase to output among major producers to keep crude prices lower. November West Texas crude gave up 16 cents to trade 0.2% lower at $72.12 a barrel. November Brent slipped 22 cents, or 0.3%, to reach $81.06 a barrel.

At 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest monetary policy decision with markets expecting the central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is in talks about leading Lyft Inc’s upcoming initial public offering as an underwriter, after rivals Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) decided not to pursue such a role out of loyalty to another IPO hopeful, Lyft’s larger competitor Uber Technologies Inc.