US open: Stocks higher ahead of Fed decision, tech earnings

(Sharecast News) - Major indices traded higher at the open on Wednesday as market participants looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and quarterly earnings from a number of the biggest names in tech.

As of 1430 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 47,980.35, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.31% to 6,912.32 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.65% firmer at 23,983.44.

The Dow opened 273.98 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as market participants digested solid quarterly earnings reports from the likes Paypal, United Health and UPS.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at 1800 GMT, with the central bank widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point rate cut, though investors remain uncertain over whether chair Jerome Powell will adopt a dovish tone in his post-meeting remarks. Markets have currently priceed in another cut at the FOMC's final meeting of the year in December.

Attention will also be on a flurry of earnings from the so-called "Magnificent Seven" this week, with Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft due to report after the close on Wednesday, followed by Apple and Amazon on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the corporate space, Boeing reported higher revenue over last year when production was constrained after a safety crisis and amid a labor strike, while Caterpillar said third-quarter revenue rose to $17.64bn, but stated profits had taken a hit from higher costs.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications surged 7.1% in the week ended 17 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, following four consecutive weekly declines. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, shot up by 9% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a new home increased 5%. The rebound coincided with a fresh drop in benchmark mortgage rates, which fell to a one-year low of 6.3%, as long-dated Treasury yields came under pressure amid mounting concerns over a weakening labour market and broader signs of economic slowdown.

On another note, US pending homes sales were unexpectedly flat in September, according to the National Association of Realtors, las concerns regarding the labour market kept prospective buyers on the sidelines, despite declining mortgage rates. September's flat reading follows an upwardly revised 4.2% uptick in August. Economists expected contracts to rise 1.0% after a previously reported 4.0% advance in August. Pending home sales dropped 0.9% on an annualised basis.

Meanwhile, trade tensions between the US and China appear to have eased following progress over the weekend, with investors now watching for developments from Donald Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $586.74 11.87%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.90 1.48%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $155.04 0.59%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $87.54 0.59%

3M Co. (MMM) $167.59 0.45%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $103.58 0.40%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $313.23 0.21%

Visa Inc. (V) $347.49 0.17%

American Express Co. (AXP) $361.04 0.00%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.13 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $216.48 -3.07%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $361.83 -1.63%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $302.43 -1.30%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.26 -1.28%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.60 -1.23%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $251.38 -1.13%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.56 -0.98%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $185.79 -0.61%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $150.67 -0.46%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $384.18 -0.41%

S&P 500 - Risers

Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $64.78 23.02%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $586.74 11.87%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $138.87 11.16%

Fortive Corporation (FTV) $53.39 8.60%

Centene Corp. (CNC) $35.60 7.25%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $10.76 7.01%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $90.24 4.41%

Cummins Inc. (CMI) $431.28 4.10%

TE Connectivity Ltd (TEL) $244.24 3.26%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $99.46 2.87%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $199.12 -14.22%

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $81.23 -5.32%

Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $22.57 -5.29%

Msci Inc. (MSCI) $565.16 -5.02%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $267.58 -4.31%

Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $10.14 -4.20%

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $75.15 -3.12%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,961.10 -3.11%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $272.61 -3.07%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $302.52 -2.75%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $259.65 16.43%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $138.87 11.16%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.09 1.23%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.19 0.86%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $72.97 0.85%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $268.87 0.52%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $269.36 0.35%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $145.65 0.33%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $102.77 0.07%

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $200.41 0.05%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $203.75 -12.23%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $267.58 -4.31%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $656.82 -3.26%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $302.05 -2.90%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.91 -2.41%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.97 -2.17%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $5,028.87 -1.79%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $84.21 -1.43%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $451.82 -1.10%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $28.97 -1.08%