U.S. stocks were higher Thursday afternoon in the final hour of trade, putting the Dow on pace for a third consecutive session of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up about 165 points, or 0.5%, near 33,832, while the S&P 500 index SPX was 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP was advancing by 0.9%, according to FactSet. Investors have been focused on next week’s two-day Federal Reserve meeting, especially on whether the central bank will skip a rate hike in June, or potentially even signal a longer pause to let its prior slavo of rate increases time to sink in. Some economists see a “skip” in June by the Fed as unlikely.
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