Stocks were up slightly with just 20 minutes to go until the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, set to be announced at 2 p.m. ET.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The Dow rose 40 points, or about 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX, was down 2%.
Treasury yields were lower, pulling back one day after the key 10-year yield hit its highest level since 2007. Oil prices were down about 3% on Wednesday, easing pressure on bonds. The drop in oil and yields also gave a boost to stocks.
Elsewhere in markets, the US dollar index was up 0.1%. Gold futures rose 1.2%.
Now, traders await the Fed’s decision at 2 p.m. ET followed by remarks from Chairman Kevin Warsh scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
“There’s a really solid expectation that Chair Warsh delivers a 25 basis point hike, so I would be astonished if he didn’t,” Padhraic Garvey, head of global rates and debt strategy at ING, told CNN.
“That’s what makes this meeting intriguing, because there’s a world where he could do nothing. That would be quite a statement. There’s a world where he could do [a] 50 [basis point hike]. That’s also a statement. And another world where he does 25,” said Garvey, who expects the Fed will deliver a 25 basis point hike.
The Fed rate decision is decided by vote among 12 policymakers at the central bank. But the chairman, who has one vote, is tasked with building consensus and is responsible for communications directly following the rate decision announcement.