U.S. stocks moved higher in morning trading Wednesday ahead of an expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Technology stocks accounted for much of the market's gains. Health care companies also rose. Banks lagged the most. Energy stocks also fell as crude oil prices headed lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,670 as of 10:19 a.m. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 117 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,622. The Nasdaq added 31 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,893. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 8 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,524. The S&P 500 and the Dow have closed at all-time highs the past two days.
FED WATCH: The Fed is widely expected to raise its key short-term interest rate for the third time this year as the U.S. economy strengthens. Investors appear confident that the economy can withstand a gradual increase in rates. However, they will be keeping a close eye on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments during a news conference for signals on how aggressive the Fed might be in raising rates next year.
"The current expectation on the part of the Fed is they will raise interest rates three times next year, but clearly one of the debates that's been ongoing is what does the low level of inflation mean for the path going forward?" said Sameer Samana, global technical and equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.