U.S. stocks open higher as Fed policy decision looms

U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday, as investors wait for the Federal Reserve to announce its decision on the size of its interest rate hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.61%
was up 0.5% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.54%
rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+0.29%
gained 0.4%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The Fed’s statement will be released at 2 p.m. Eastern time, with central bank Chair Jerome Powell scheduled for a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Investors have been anticipating that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point in an effort to battle high inflation and will be looking for clues about its terminal rate.