U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as traders monitor the latest developments in the Middle East and brace for the Federal Reserve’s latest rate policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 167 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 also gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%.
Oil prices fell Wednesday after President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that the Iranians had reached out and signaled that they would send a delegation to Washington for negations.
“They want to negotiate,” the president said. “They even suggested that they come to the White House. That’s courageous. It’s like not easy for them to do.”
Stocks were downbeat earlier this week as the Israel-Iran conflict mounted.
The attacks between the two countries entered their sixth day Wednesday as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Iran won’t surrender and warned that the U.S. will “undoubtedly be met with irreparable damage” if it enters the conflict.
This follows Trump taking to his Truth Social platform Tuesday to threaten the Iranian leader, saying that “our patience is wearing thin” and calling for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Current and former administration officials also told NBC News that Trump is weighing options on Iran, including whether to launch a military strike.
“The market just seems very keen to fade geopolitical risk,” Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments, said to CNBC. “That has been historically the right thing to do, so I think that’s kind of what’s driving us so far today.”
Fed decision ahead
The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is due at 2 p.m. ET. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, but investors will be keeping a close eye on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments.
Traders are also watching for policymakers’ forecast on rate policy, as the Federal Open Market Committee will be sharing members’ “dot plot” of rate expectations.
source: cnbc.com
