US open: S&P 500 hits record intraday high at the bell
Stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve for an update on interest rates as the central bank's two-day FOMC meeting was set to draw a close later in the session.
As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 0.13% at 26,627.01, while the S&P 500 started trading 0.06% firmer to 2,947.68 and the Nasdaq Composite opened 0.33% stronger at 8,122.42.
The Dow picked up 34 points and the S&P 500 hit a record intraday high at the bell as market participants thumbed over another round of corporate earnings, fresh data releases and news from this week's Fed meeting.
Oanda's Dean Popplewell said: "There is a lot on the line for the Fed today – no rate hike is expected but will Chairman Powell follow through and reiterate his most recent dovish comments? The Fed's integrity is at stake here, Powell needs to keep to 'his script,' a 'dovish' stance otherwise he is expected to lose some degree of respect from the street."
Fed chairman Jerome Powell will comment on the outcome of the Fed's two-day FOMC meeting at 1900 BST.
US policymakers and Donald Trump were also considering a giant $2trn infrastructure programme covering roads, bridges, power grids, water and broadband infrastructure, although very little information on how the White House plans to fund the programme has emerged as of yet.
"We agreed on a number, which was very, very good – US$2trn for infrastructure. Originally we had started with a lower – even the president was eager to push it up to $2trn,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Elsewhere, West Texas Intermediate was down 0.28% at $63.73 as signs of a sharp increase in US crude inventories and concerns over global demand weighed on prices. Brent Crude, on the other hand, was trading 0.12% firmer at $72.15 a barrel.
On the corporate front, CVS Health shares climbed 4.16% at the bell after profits, revenues and same-store sales beat expectations, while Molson Coors slid 5.33% in early trading as earnings fell short of expectations.
GlaxoSmithKline dropped 2.26% despite sales of its shingles vaccine exceeding $1.3bn in a "fantastic" quarter, while Taco Bell and Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands was also trading 2.97% lower as a result of lacklustre same-store sales.
Qualcomm and Fitbit results were set to come after the close.
Reporting after the bell on Tuesday, tech giant Apple revealed that sales of iPhones fell heavily in the three months to March, but an uptick in the demand at the end of the quarter allowed the Californian firm to up its guidance for the next quarter.
The company is now expecting revenues of between $52.5bn and $54.5bn in the third quarter, above Wall Street forecasts. Shares were trading higher by over 6% in early trading.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said: "The tech giant delivered a very clear message: the demand for iPhones is reviving. Apple's premium for its phone was getting out of proportion and given that the company has decided to trim that premium, this has helped its iPhone sales."
In data news, private sector employment in the US grew more than expected in April, according to data released by the ADP on Wednesday.
Employers added 275,000 jobs last month versus expectations for an increase of 180,000. Meanwhile, March's total of jobs added was revised up from 129,000 to 151,000.
Capital Economics economist Michael Peace said a surge in private payroll employment will fuel expectations that the official figures, due out on Friday, will show a similarly impressive gain.
"Unfortunately, the more reliable survey evidence and the temporary employment figures of the official series itself suggest our below-consensus forecast for a subdued 165,000 gain will be closer to the mark," said Peace.
Elsewhere, IHS Markit's US Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 in its final release from the 52.4 figure recorded back in March, ahead of market expectations of 52.4.
IHS Markit's chief business economist Chris Williamson said: "Although the PMI ticked higher in April, the survey remains consistent with manufacturing acting as a drag on the economy at the start of the second quarter, albeit with the rate of contraction easing,"
Lastly, a key gauge of factory sector conditions in the US retreated last month, as the pace of incoming orders and hiring slowed down, with executives from several sectors citing concerns around increased trade frictions on the border with Mexico.
The Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index slipped from a reading of 55.3 for March to 52.8 in April. Economists had pencilled-in a reading of 55.0.