Fed Decision Looms as Stocks Drift

U.S. stock indexes held steady Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's afternoon decision on interest rates. By 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 176 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, moving within 1% of the record high it set earlier this month. The Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.

The Federal Reserve raised its main interest rate last month for the first time in three years. The move aimed to slow the inflation that has been pushing up costs across the economy. Traders widely expect the central bank to hold rates steady at the current meeting. The open question is whether Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh will signal where rates are headed at future meetings. Warsh has said repeatedly since taking over that he wants the Fed to provide fewer indications about its planned moves.

Interest rates shape stock prices because they influence what companies pay to borrow. Corporate profits are the other major driver. Several firms rose Wednesday after reporting summer results that topped analyst forecasts. GE HealthCare Technologies climbed 8% after beating expectations for both profit and revenue. The company also lifted its full-year projections for revenue growth and other financial measures. Etsy gained 3.9% after quarterly profit exceeded forecasts. CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said active buyers grew from year-ago levels for the first time in two years, and the active seller base grew at its fastest rate in two years.

Shares tied to artificial intelligence held steady after swinging sharply earlier in the week. Investors had been selling those stocks on concerns that high borrowing costs could undercut funding for AI data centers, which are largely financed with debt. South Korea's SK Hynix rose 10.9% in Seoul after reporting its latest profit. The memory chip supplier said it expects demand to run ahead of supply through 2030. In New York, Micron Technology added 4.7% and was the biggest contributor to the S&P 500's gain.

Wendy's jumped 15.5% to $7.09 after Trian Fund Management offered $7.35 per share in cash to buy the chain. Trian is run by investor Nelson Peltz. Boston Scientific fell 6.6% even though its profit decline came in milder than analysts expected. The company's forecast for the current quarter came in below forecasts. Robinhood Markets dropped 3.3% after reporting profit and revenue for the latest quarter that fell short of analyst expectations.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 5.02% from 4.99% late Tuesday. The yield stood near the top of its range since climbing from 3.97% when the war with Iran pushed oil prices and inflation worries higher. It topped 5.30% earlier this month, the highest level since 2002, before easing back. Brent crude, the international oil standard, rose 2.3% to $111.96 a barrel amid uncertainty about the Middle East and global energy supply.

Abroad, South Korea's Kospi gained 6.6% on SK Hynix's rally. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%. France's CAC 40 slipped less than 0.1%.