US Stocks end mostly up ahead of Fed meeting outcome

The US stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday, 15 September 2020, with broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closing firmly in positive territory, on the hope the Federal Reserve would stick with its accommodative policy as the central bank's two-day meeting got underway. The Dow gave back early gains to end the session nearly unchanged due to weakness among shares of Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Travelers (TRV).

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index edged up 2.27 points, or 0.01%, to 27,995.60. The S&P 500 index added 17.66 points, or 0.52%, to 3,401.20. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 133.67 points, or 1.21%, to 11,190.32.

Traders are looking ahead to the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve beginning on Tuesday, in which central bankers may elaborate further on their new average inflation targeting strategy that will keep interest rates lower for longer in a bid to maximize employment. The central bank's latest economic projections may also attract attention.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Fed showing growth in U.S. industrial production slowed by much more than expected in the month of August. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.4% in August after soaring by an upwardly revised 3.5% in July.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed another notable increase in U.S. import prices in the month of August, with prices jumping by much more than expected.

Shares of Apple pulled back well off their early highs, edging up by just 0.2% after the company wrapped up an event to showcase new products. The tech giant debuted a new Apple Watch and a bundle for its services, such as Apple Music.

Citigroup Inc dropped 4.3% following a report that federal regulators were preparing to reprimand the U.S. lender for failing to improve its risk-management systems.

JP Morgan Chase & Co slipped 2.4% as it lowered its full-year net interest income forecast.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Import Prices Climb 0.9% In August- US import prices climbed by 0.9% in August after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.2% in July, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. The import price growth was partly due to a jump in prices for fuel imports, which surged up by 3.3% in August after soaring by 15.1% in July. Higher prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the advance. The report said prices for non-fuel imports also climbed by 0.7% in August after edging up by 0.2% in July, reflecting the biggest increase since April of 2011. Prices for non-fuel industrial supplies and materials led the way higher, spiking by 3.6%. The Labor Department said export prices also rose by 0.5% in August following an upwardly revised 0.9% advance in July. Export prices were expected to edge up by 0.4% compared to the 0.8% growth originally reported for the previous month.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS added 0.76% to $13.34, Azure Power Global inclined 9.21% to $28.94, WNS Holdings rose 3.47% to $67.47, Wipro grew 0.87% to $4.65, and Tata Motors added 0.2% to $10.09. HDFC Bank added 1.37% to $49.49, Dr Reddys Labs rose 1.34% to $60.49, ICICI Bank was up 2.11% to $10.17, and Vedanta grew 0.56% to $7.13.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News