Stocks opened higher Wednesday as oil prices bounced, the dollar eased and markets looked toward the Federal Reserve's rate policy decision this afternoon.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq was up 0.1%.
The focal news item for the stock market today, and the week, is the Federal Open Market Committee's rate policy announcement, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, and followed by a press conference with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at 2:30 p.m. ET. The National Association of Home Builders' closely watched Housing Market Index is due out later this morning.
In Play: Chevron, Rio Tinto, Snap, Nike, MSCI
Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) each muscled up a fraction on the Dow. Apple (AAPL) added 0.2%. Intel (INTC) dropped nearly 1%.
Nike's (NKE) rose nearly 1%. The sportswear maker is battling through a 16-month consolidation. It reports its fiscal Q3 on Tuesday.
Among S&P 500 stocks, Southwestern Energy (SWN) rose 3% after Citigroup upgraded the gas producer to buy from neutral. Southwestern shares have been in a steep decline since December and well off the peak at 49.16 reached nearly three years ago.
Investment research tools developer MSCI (MSCI) rocketed 11% ahead of the starting bell. Shares are extended above a 90.89 buy point from a cup base cleared in February.
Metal and ore mining stocks were in motion. Rio Tinto (RIO), Brazil's Vale (VALE) and BHP Billiton (BHP) were up 1.5% to 3%. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) posted a 1% advance.
Snap (SNAP) leaned more than 1% lower after Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on the IPO with an underweight rating. The note set the stock's price target at 18, nearly 13% below Tuesday's closing price. Snap shares ended Tuesday 21% above their March 2 IPO price, and 30% below their March 3 high.
On the IBD 50 list, Momo (MOMO) pulled back 1% at the open. The China-based micro-blogging service bolted 7% higher in heavy trade Tuesday, leaving it just below last week's high and up 40% since a February breakout.
Oil, Copper Jump; N.Y. Manufacturing Slows, New Orders Spike
Oil prices bounced in early action, sending West Texas Intermediate up nearly 2% and back above $48 a barrel. Copper jumped more than 1% and gold dipped a fraction to $1,199 an ounce. The dollar gave up some ground vs. the euro and the yen, and the 10-year yield dipped 3 basis points to 2.57%.
Manufacturing growth in the New York region cooled in March, sending the New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State Manufacturing Survey to 16.4 for the month, down from 18.7 in February. The survey's new orders index spiked to 21.3, "its highest level in several years, pointing to a substantial increase in orders," the report said.
Consumer prices edged up 0.1% in February, the Labor Department estimated, slowing from January's 0.6% gain but meeting expectations. Core prices, minus energy and food, rose 0.2%, also in line with views and down from a 0.3% increase in January.
February retail sales also gained 0.1%, meeting economists' targets. The Commerce Department also revised its January retail sales increase higher, to 0.6%. Taking away automobiles and gasoline sales, February sales rose 0.2% — just below the 0.3% consensus projection and down from a 0.7% improvement in January.
At 10 a.m. ET, January business inventories are due from the Commerce Department, and the National Association of Home Builders releases its March builders' confidence index. At 10:30 a.m,. the Energy Information Administration delivers its weekly oil inventories report.
Europe's markets were tightly mixed in afternoon action: London's FTSE 100 added 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris inched up 0.1% and Frankfurt's DAX wrestled with a fractional decline. China's leading indexes closed Wednesday's session mixed and, in Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.2%.
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