US stocks end higher in choppy trading session as oil prices and bond yields fall ahead of critical Fed decision

• US stocks edged higher Tuesday ahead of a key Federal Reserve decision.
• Wall Street broadly expects the central bank to hike rates by 50 basis points at the conclusion of its meeting tomorrow.

US stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors prepare for a key interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve at the conclusion of its meeting tomorrow.

The central bank is expected to ramp up monetary policy tightening at the end of its meeting on Wednesday as part of its campaign to tamp down inflation that is running at 40-year highs. Wall Street is broadly expecting the Fed to hike rates by 50 basis points.

Chairman Jerome Powell will speak Wednesday at 2 p.m at the conclusion of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,175.47, up 0.48%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,128.79, up 0.2% (67.29 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 12,563.76, 0.22%

Billionaire trader Paul Tudor Jones said investors should preserve capital now instead of turning to the market. "Clearly you don't want to own bonds or stocks," he told CNBC.

Chegg plummeted 37% Tuesday as inflation added pressure to its guidance, and its CEO said "people are shifting their priorities toward earnings over learning."

US oil exports to Europe continued to surge ahead of a potential EU embargo on Russian oil. The US sent 48.8 million barrels to Europe last month, Bloomberg data shows. At the same time, however, Germany warned that a ban on Russian supplies will harm Europe's economy.

Meanwhile, El Salvador's bitcoin bond reportedly hasn't lured a single investor, and markets are bracing for a potential default on conventional debt.

Oil slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 2.37% to $102.68 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved lower 2.18% to $105.23 a barrel.

Gold inched higher 0.161% to 1,866.60 per ounce. The 10-year yield moved flat at 2.979%.

Bitcoin fell 2.05% to $37.677.95.