U.S. Stocks Rise on Tech Earnings Ahead of Fed Rate Decision

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision as big tech earnings continued to roll in.

At 10:56 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 120 points or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 2.4%.

The week started off with a profit warning from Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) that weighed on the retail sector and cast a cloud over earnings, but Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said last night that revenue would grow by double digits this year as cloud computing is in hot demand. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) also reported better than expected results in search ads, both stocks rose.

Microsoft shares were up 4.4%, and Google parent Alphabet rose 5.5%.

Tech stocks have been pounded down by the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes this year, and the Fed was expected to raise its benchmark rate another 0.75 percentage point later today. 

Investors will be listening to what Fed officials have to say about their outlook, particularly Chair Jerome Powell, who will hold a press conference this afternoon.

PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares jumped 10% after a report that activist investor Elliott Investment Management is buying up a stake.

T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) rose 3.9% after it raised its subscriber growth forecast again and beat expectations for quarterly profit.

Oil rose. Crude Oil WTI Futures was up 2.5% to $97.28 a barrel and Brent Oil Futures crude was up 2.4% to $101.84 a barrel. Gold Futures dipped 0.1% to $1,715 an ounce.