S&P 500 Index opens modestly higher as focus shifts to Fed decision

• Wall Street’s main indexes opened in the positive territory on Wednesday.
• Financial shares continue to decline pressured by falling T-bond yields.
• All eyes on the FOMC’s policy announcement after July meeting.

Major equity indexes in the US opened in the positive territory on Wednesday as investors shift their attention to FOMC’s policy decisions. As of writing, The S&P 500 was up 0.45% on the day at 3,232, the Nasdaq Composite was gaining 0.7% at 10,609 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 26,391.

The Fed is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged and Chairman Jerome Powell is likely to reiterate the Fed’s commitment to the ultra-accommodative policy. On Tuesday, the Fed announced that it extended its emergency lending facilities by three months to the end of the year.

Additionally, the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook are set to testify before the House Antitrust Subcommittee.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Real Estate Index is up 0.95% on the day to lead the gainers. On the other hand, Financials Index trade in the negative territory pressured by falling Treasury bond yields. The 10-year US Treasury bond yield was down 1% on the day at 0.578% at the time of press.

S&P 500 chart (daily)