: U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Fed rate decision

U.S. stock indexes opened higher as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 92 points, or 0.3%, to 34,601, while the S&P 500 SPX was rising 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP was advancing 0.1%. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rates steady at 2 p.m. ET, but investors will be scrutinizing the summary of economic projections and the press conference of Chair Powell for clues as to whether policymakers are determined to hike rates again in the remainder of 2023. Oil prices continued to retreat from 10-month highs on Wednesday as investors also looked ahead to the weekly U.S. inventory data which is due at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery CL00CL.1CLV23 fell 88 cents, or 1%, to $89.60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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