ADDS LATEST FIGURES, TECH STOCKS
By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 jumped at Wednesday's opening bell before the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 363 points, or 2.1%, to 17,510 and the S&P 500 jumped 65 points, or 1.2%, to 5,501 at 9.40 a.m. EDT.
The Dow, meanwhile, increased just six points, or 0.1%, to 40,749.
While the Fed is widely expected to hold its policy rate unchanged Wednesday, investors will look for any clues for a rate cut in September.
The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, dove 6.7% to 16.50. The 10-year US Treasury yield declined 1% to 4.100%.
The dollar index decreased 0.6% to 103.94, while the euro gained 0.25% to $1.0842 against the greenback.
Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.65% to $2,426 per ounce and silver increasing 1.6% to $28.85.
Oil prices jumped around 2.8%, with global benchmark Brent crude priced at $80.18 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $76.95.
US stocks continued their gains midday as the Nasdaq soared 443 points, or 2.59%, to 17,590 at 11.50 a.m.
The S&P 500 jumped 91 points, or 1.69%, to 5,528 and the Dow added 211 points, or 0.52%, to 40,954.
American chipmaker Nvidia saw its shares rally 11.8%, while electric carmaker Tesla's stock was up almost 4%.
Share of Uber and Amazon popped up more than 2.7% each.
Intel and Apple were up around 1.75% apiece.