US stocks rise as investors await conclusion of Fed policy meeting

• US stocks rallied Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting.
• A slew of corporate earnings is expected soon, with Tesla reporting after the market close.
• Brent crude oil prices inched closer to $90 a barrel while gold slipped.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday after a volatile start to the week, ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting later today.

The S&P 500 rebounded after closing lower in the previous session and finishing in the red five of the past six trading days. The tech-focused Nasdaq 100 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both gained as shares of Microsoft climbed after an upbeat earnings report late Tuesday.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,416.45, up 1.38%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,540.19, up 0.71%
• Nasdaq Composite: 13,840.33, up 2.27%

Investors are counting down the hours until the central bank announces its decision, which is due at 2 p.m. ET followed by a briefing with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. Many are not expecting the Fed to implement immediate changes but instead will search for clues on when the central bank plans to hike interest rates.

"I don't think that they will intentionally try to be overly hawkish," Brian Rauscher, head of global portfolio of strategy and asset allocation at Fundstrat, told Insider. "If whatever comes out in the statement and afterward is interpreted as being overly hawkish, then yesterday's bounce will probably go down. We may undercut and it may get sloppy again."

The whiplash in US equities this week began with jitters that a Fed determined to tame a nearly 40-year high in inflation will turn aggressively hawkish. That included worries the central bank may start to shrink its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet — more commonly known as quantitative tightening.

Adding to the market swings is also a cascade of earnings reports from mega-cap companies due this week. Tesla will report after the closing bell Wednesday, while Apple will post results on Thursday. So far roughly 13% of S&P 500 companies have reported their earnings results.

Outside the US, investors are keeping an eye on the simmering geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which is impacting different commodities including oil and precious metals. US President Joe Biden said he would consider personally sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin if he orders a Ukraine invasion.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose as much as 1.41% to $86.81 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped as much as 1.51% to $89.53 per barrel.

Gold rose dipped by 0.43% to $1,841.77 per ounce.

The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 1.778% from Tuesday's 1.784%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.