US stocks rise ahead of Fed meeting
NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rose early Tuesday shortly before the start of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that will give an outlook on the likelihood of hiking interest rates this year.
The Fed is not expected to raise rates Wednesday as US economic data continues to show some signs of weakness and inflation remains weak. Many analysts expect an interest rate hike later this year, perhaps in December.
About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,203.31, up 0.5 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 2,148.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 percent to 5,257.27.
Tobira Therapeutics, which specializes in remedies for liver disease, surged more than eight-fold on news it agreed to be acquired by Allergan for $1.7 billion. Allergan lost 2.1 percent.
Other biotech shares were boosted, with Amgen and Celgene winning about one percent each and Gilead Sciences 2.4 percent.
FedEx rose 1.3 percent after announcing shipping rate increases of 4-5 percent that will take effect in January.
Homebuilder Lennar dropped 3.5 percent as third-quarter net income rose 5.6 percent to $235.8 million. Analysts said new orders lagged expectations.
Shares of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide rose 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, after announcing that their merger had won Chinese approval, the last regulatory hurdle to completing the deal.
- AFP
