NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, a day ahead of the start of a crucial Federal Reserve policy meeting. Fed policymakers will convene a two-day meeting on Wednesday and could decide to raise interest rates for the first time in close to a decade.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average gained 162 points, or 1 percent, to 16,531 as of 10:47 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 17 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,970. The Nasdaq composite rose 41 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,846.
VOLATILE MARKETS: The stock market has recovered some of the ground that it lost in August and early September, but is still down from its peak of the year as traders and investors fret about the possible impact of slower growth in China and other emerging markets. The S&P 500 is down 7.7 percent from its record close set in May.
FEDERAL RESERVE: Investors are looking ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week. Opinions are split over whether the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday and economists expect the Fed to weigh China’s slower economy and recent turbulence in financial markets against continued growth in the U.S. jobs market.
THE QUOTE: “There has been a lot of bearishness in markets lately. China and emerging markets have been the big worry,” said Neil Massa, a senior equity trader at John Hancock Asset Management. “So the question is: Can the Fed ignore what’s happening in the rest of the world?”