U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, benefiting from generally positive corporate earnings ahead of a much-anticipated Fed interest rate decision.

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points, or 0.3%, higher, the S&P 500 index rose 20 points, or 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite gained 150 points, or 0.6%. 

All three major U.S. stock indexes posted record closing highs on Tuesday.

Fed set to ease

The Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting ends later in the session, with a quarter-point rate cut all but priced in.

A prolonged government shutdown has left the Fed without most economic data, including the widely-watched monthly jobs report, to guage the health of the U.S. economy. As such, a lot of the interest will be on comments from Chair Jerome Powell for insight into how the central bank perceives the economy and the likely path of monetary policy.

Also in focus will be whether the central bank finally announces an end to its long-running balance sheet reduction program, known as quantitative tightening.

Global sentiment has also been boosted by news that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet later this week, with negotiators finalizing a framework to avert new tariffs and sanctions.

Tech earnings to set tone 

In the corporate sector, earnings are due from software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Instagram-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) after the close on Wall Street.

These results are set to be followed on Thursday by iPhone-maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Such is their massive size and sway over investors that these reports stand to heavily dictate the trajectory of U.S. equities heading into the final months of 2025.

Elsewhere, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is in the spotlight, with the chipmaker on course to become the first $5 trillion company, after Trump said he plans to discuss the company’s Blackwell artificial intelligence processors with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, fueling speculation that Washington could ease restrictions on chip exports to China.

Trump had previously signaled that he might consider allowing Nvidia to export a downgraded version of its latest AI processor to China — a move that would mark a major policy shift and potential breakthrough in U.S.-China tech relations.

Elsewhere, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) stock rose after the telecom giant beat estimates for quarterly profit and wireless subscriber additions, as promotions around the recent iPhone launches helped the U.S. wireless service provider attract more customers

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock gained after the heavy equipment manufacturer reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, with sales helped by resilient demand across its business segments.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) stock rose after the pharmacy chain lifted its annual profit outlook, but flagged a $5.7 billion charge linked to an impairment test which showed that the fair value of its struggling health care delivery division was below its carrying value.

On the flip side, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) stock fell after the packaged food giant lowered its annual sales and profit forecasts, signaling persistent weakness in demand for its pricier snacks and pantry condiments from budget-conscious consumers.