PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly higher on Wednesday a few hours before the conclusions of the Federal Reserve meeting and after a new series of corporate results.

About ten minutes after the start of trading, the Dow Jones index is almost stable at 33,670.95 points and the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose by 0.14% to 4,125.17 points.

The Nasdaq Composite took 0.29%, or 34.61 points, to 12,115.116.

Major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 1% on Tuesday as regional bank stocks suffered on fears about the financial system following the collapse of First Republic.

Released before the opening, the ADP monthly employment survey showed that the US private sector added 296,000 jobs in April, a figure above expectations.

Investors will watch at 14:00 GMT the ISM services index. But the main meeting of the day remains the monetary policy statement from the Federal Reserve, at 6:00 p.m. GMT, even if it is practically certain that the central bank will raise its rates by a quarter of a point.

Investors’ attention will be on signs as to whether further hikes are in the offing, as inflation remains above the 2% target.

“The Fed may want to give as little guidance as possible, leaving the door open for a pause or even further hike,” Saxo Bank analysts said.

In terms of business results, the cosmetics group Estée Lauder fell by 19.79% after disappointing targets for 2023 due to a slower-than-expected recovery in Asia.

Advanced Micro Devices fell 6.93% as the semiconductor maker forecast quarterly sales below estimates due to weak PC markets.

Kraft Heinz advanced 4.49% after raising its full-year profit forecast, while CVS fell 4.23% after lowering its forecast.

The Eli Lilly laboratory gains 3.68% after an experimental treatment slowed the cognitive decline of people diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease by 35% in a phase III trial.

(Laetitia Volga, editing by Kate Entringer)

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