Stocks Closed Higher, Fed in Focus

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve’s began a two-day meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113.31 points, or 0.64%, to 17,904.48. The S&P 500 added 11.86 points, or 0.57%, to 2,096.29. The Nasdaq Composite rose 25.58 points, or 0.51%, to 5,055.55.

The Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting kicked off Tuesday. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will hold a news conference after the meeting concludes on Wednesday.T he Federal Reserve almost certainly won’t pull the trigger on an interest rate hike.

Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) and Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) are making a joint bid for NCR Corp (NCR.N) in a leveraged buyout that would be the year’s biggest at more than $10 billion, including debt.

21st Century Fox made its succession official, announcing that Rupert Murdoch would leave his CEO title to son James Murdoch, who is currently co-COO.

Credit card issuer Discover Financial Services said it would close its mortgage origination business and cut about 460 related jobs to focus on its direct banking products.