Wall Street opens modestly higher as focus shifts to FOMC

• Next level of high-level US-China trade talks said to take place in September.
• FOMC is expected to announce  first rate cut  since 2008.
• Technology shares rally inspired by Apple’s strong performance.

Wall Street’s main indexes started the day modestly higher on Wednesday but are likely to stay relatively calm in the first half of the day as investors are gearing up for the FOMC to announce its first rate cut in 2008. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index gains 0.65% on the back of a more-than-5% rise witnessed in Apple shares to lead the winners. On the other hand, the Consumer Staples Index is down 0.4% on the day.

Earlier in the day, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Chinese and English editions of the Global Times, reported that this week’s US-China trade talks were constructive and efficient and added that the next round of negotiations was expected to take place in September. The relatively optimistic tone surrounding the trade conflict seems to be helping major equity indexes float in the positive territory.