US close: Stocks higher as attention turns to FOMC meeting

(Sharecast News) - Major indices delivered a positive performance on Tuesday as market participants patiently awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee's March policy meeting. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.83% at 39,110.76, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.56% to 5,178.51 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.39% firmer at 16,166.79.

The Dow closed 320.33 points higher on Tuesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Investors now turn their attention to Washington as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting, with a recent batch of concerning inflation figures leaving traders fearful that the central bank may look to hold benchmark interest rates at a higher level for longer than previously expected.

Also in focus, Wall Street darling Nvidia shares traded higher on Tuesday following its first-ever GTC Conference, during which chief executive Jensen Huang unveiled its latest artificial intelligence chip, Blackwell, which he claimed was significantly more powerful than its current chips.

On the macro front, both building permits and housing starts surged across the US in February, according to the Census Bureau, beating forecasts. Building permits rose 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 1.51m in February, exceeding market forecasts for a reading of 1.49m to hit the highest level seen since August 2023. Housing starts soared 10.7% month-on-month to an annualised rate of 1.52m, after falling by 12.3% in January, smashing expectations for a reading of 1.42m, amid a persistent shortage of previously owned houses.

No major corporate earnings were released on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $379.41 2.02% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $282.87 1.54% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $176.08 1.36% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $493.32 1.29% Nike Inc. (NKE) $99.96 1.24% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $388.66 1.12% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $421.41 0.98% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $193.34 0.86% Visa Inc. (V) $287.35 0.81% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $156.62 0.78%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $42.05 -1.55% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $156.21 -0.35% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.14 -0.26% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $60.87 0.02% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $56.76 0.04% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.71 0.10% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.97 0.10% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.23 0.17% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $271.68 0.29%

S&P 500 - Risers

International Paper Co. (IP) $38.77 10.96% Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $18.66 9.38% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.69 4.97% AES Corp. (AES) $15.54 4.44% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $584.71 4.30% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $311.85 3.63% Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $62.46 3.60% Clorox Co. (CLX) $153.59 3.18% D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $156.18 3.02% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $41.36 2.89%

S&P 500 - Fallers

FMC Corp. (FMC) $61.67 -6.65% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $181.42 -4.84% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $5.38 -4.44% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $120.54 -3.24% Newmont Corporation (NEM) $33.56 -2.50% Fluor Corp. (FLR) $39.22 -2.34% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $63.01 -1.90% Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $844.58 -1.87% Cummins Inc. (CMI) $281.01 -1.79% Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $117.87 -1.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $584.71 4.30% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $311.85 3.63% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $133.07 2.25% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $54.40 2.04% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,134.65 1.87% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $135.56 1.76% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $58.34 1.74% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $85.25 1.72% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $3,505.98 1.60% Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $146.43 1.47%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $63.01 -1.90% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $164.10 -1.69% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.47 -1.63% Intel Corp. (INTC) $42.05 -1.55% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $163.98 -1.50% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $166.76 -1.45% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $171.32 -1.43% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $681.06 -1.40% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.93 -1.28% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.99 -0.99%