US stocks end higher ahead of Fed rate decision

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks ended with gains Tuesday as investors awaited clues on future monetary policy decisions.

The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at each of its meetings in May, July and September and by 75 basis points in June.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.20%, or 67.29 points, at 33,128.

The S&P 500 rose 20.10 points, or 0.48%, to close at 4,175.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 27.74 points, or 0.22%, to 12,563.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.98%.

- European stocks

Meanwhile, European stock markets also ended the day with gains.

At the close, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.53% to 446.20 points.

The UK's FTSE 100 index increased by 0.22% to 7,561.33 points, while Germany's DAX 30 index gained 0.72% to 14,039.47 points. In France, the CAC 40 index increased by 0.79% to 6,476.18 points.

Italy's FTSE MIB 30 index rose 1.61% to 24,242.25 points.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $105 per barrel for a 2.29% gain, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $102.89 a barrel

Gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,866 an ounce and silver declined by 0.02% to $22.58