U.S. Markets Jump Ahead of Fed Amid Slowing Retail Sales

(C) Reuters.

By Christiana Sciaudone

Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened higher on Wednesday for a third day, despite slower retail sales, and ahead of the Fed’s rate decision.

By 9:33 AM ET (1333 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Averagewas up 88 points or 0.32%. TheS&P 500 rose 0.4% and the NASDAQ Composite increased 0.33%.

The Federal Reserve wraps up its regular two-day policy meeting, with the publication of its post-meeting statement at 2 PM ET (1800 GMT) and Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference. There are no policy changes expected, but the Fed will update its economic forecasts, including a first forecast for 2023.

U.S. retail sales rose less than forecast in August, up 0.6% after a downwardly revised 0.9% increase the prior month. The increase for August had been expected at 1%.

Investors are in a frenzy over Snowflake’s IPO, the largest of the year, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is facing a Kim Kardashian West boycott and a possible FTC lawsuit. Oil prices are rebounding after a big drop in U.S. inventories.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) jumped 5.6% after reporting its highest quarterly revenue ever Tuesday.