The Dow Jones industrial average opened up 0.2%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite opened near the flat line.
The Fed meets in Washington for two days beginning Tuesday, and officials could signal when the Fed will dial back the stimulus that has helped boost the stock market this year.
The Fed's $85 billion of monthly bond purchases have kept U.S. interest rates low to encourage economic recovery but also sent a flood of money into stock markets worldwide in search of higher returns.
"Today kicks off the final Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the year, with a statement slated for release tomorrow," says Schaeffer's Investment Research senior options strategist Tony Venosa. "There has been a lot of chatter recently about a December tapering, so the next two days could be quite volatile."
An unchanged reading on consumer price inflation in November and a increase of just 1.2% in the cost of living over the past 12 months reported today is well below the Fed's 2% guidepost. That could influence the Fed's decision on when to start the taper.
The Dow got a boost from aerospace giant Boeing, which announced that it was boosting its dividend by 50% and buying back $10 billion worth of shares within the next two to three years. Similarly, materials company 3M said it was boosting its dividend by nearly 35%.
In energy markets, benchmark crude for January delivery shed 15 cents to $97.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 88 cents to close at $97.48 a barrel on Monday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% at 15,278.63.
On Monday, the Dow rose 129 points, or 0.8%, to close at 15,884.57. The S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 0.6%, to 1,786.54. The Nasdaq composite ended higher by 28 points, or 0.7%, at 4,029.52.
MONDAY: Stocks strong on deal new! s, productivity data
Contributing: Associated Press
No comments:
Post a Comment