Summary Analysts disagree on whether the Fed will immediately taper the program.
NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks Wednesday moved mostly higher ahead of the conclusion of a crucial US Federal Reserve policy meeting that could scale back the central bank s aggressive bond-buying program.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.96 points (0.36 percent) to 15,932.22.
The broad-based S&P 500 increased 3.06 (0.17 percent) to 1,784.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 3.77 (0.09 percent) to 4,019.91
News from the Fed will dominate Wednesday s session, with the central bank determining whether the economy is strong enough to absorb a reduction in the $85 billion a month asset-purchase program.
Analysts disagree on whether the Fed will immediately taper the program. A Fed policy statement at 2:00 pm (1900 GMT) will be followed by a news conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
European stock markets were strong following good German business confidence data and improved British unemployment. The German DAX was up 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent and the British FTSE 100 increased 0.2 percent.
Ford Motor sank 5.4 percent after forecasting 2014 pre-tax profits at $7-8 billion, below the $8.5 billion it expects in 2013. The 2014 operating margin is also expected to be lower.
Tech giant Apple fell 1.4 percent after Jabil Circuit, a supplier to the iPhone, gave a weak outlook due to less business in a key segment. Jabil fell 22 percent.
A Citi note said the Jabil forecast "suggests increased risk" to Apple s upcoming quarter. The Citi note also pointed to the lack of a deal with China Mobile, despite news reports indicating an agreement had been reached.
FedEx rose 0.1 percent after quarterly results lagged expectations. Net income came in at $1.57 per share, below the analyst forecast of $1.64 per share. On the positive side, the company boosted its forecast for full-year earnings growth from 7-13 percent to 8-14 percent.
Dow component Boeing fell 0.8 percent after announcing a series of executive promotions, including the appointment of Dennis Muilenburg to vice chairman, president and chief executive to share oversight of day-to-day business matters with Boeing head Jim McNerney.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.88 percent from 2.84 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.91 percent from 3.87 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
