Equities rose on Wednesday as Wall Street cheered strong quarterly results from tech giant Apple while awaiting the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 56.86 points to 27,254.88
The S&P 500 inched up 1.36 points to 3,014.54
The NASDAQ regained 13.44 points to 8,287.05
Apple reported Tuesday evening earnings per share and revenue for the previous quarter that topped analyst expectations, sending the stock up nearly 5% on Wednesday. The company also issued better-than-expected revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.
General Electric shares also rose 1% before the bell on better-than-expected earnings. The company's outlook for industrial cash flow also topped estimates.
Nearly 60% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings so far. Of those companies, 76% have posted stronger-than-forecast quarterly profits
The Fed is set to deliver its latest decision on monetary policy at 2 p.m. ET. Chair Jerome Powell is also scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Traders were pricing in a 25 basis-point rate cut coming into the meeting. If the Fed cuts rates, it would be its first since the financial crisis more than 10 years ago.
A Fed cut would come amid mixed economic data. U.S. economic growth slowed down to 2.1% in the second quarter. However, that growth rate was better than expected.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.05% from Tuesday's 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices added 31 cents to $58.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices edged up 70 cents to $1,436.50 U.S. an ounce.