(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with investors remaining cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy decision and as the corporate earnings season is in full swing.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 40.33 points, or 0.12%, to 33,093.2 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.20% to 4,202.01 points.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.28%, or 35.80 points, to 12,887.04 points.
Although the Fed is expected to keep policy unchanged on Wednesday, investors will be watching for any clues on how long the central bank might keep rates high when Chair Jerome Powell speaks at 1830 GMT.
The Fed’s position will be all the more closely watched as stock markets experienced a sharp decline in October due to rising Treasury yields, the conflict in the Middle East and mixed corporate results.
The Treasury Department further announced Wednesday that it plans to “gradually” increase the size of most of its debt auctions during the quarter from November 2023 to January 2024, pushing down the benchmark yield Treasury at 10 years.
“Part of the driver of the rise in yields during the September-October period was really supply, so today’s announcement became extremely important for market participants,” Art Hogan said. , analyst at B. Riley Wealth.
In terms of values, cosmetics manufacturer Estee Lauder fell 15% after reducing its annual profit outlook.
CVS Health, whose quarterly profit exceeded estimates, nevertheless reported an increase in medical costs in its health insurance business and lost 5% at the opening.
(Written by Diana Mandiá)
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