US stocks lower at open ahead of key Fed rate decision

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve's key rate hike decision and guidance.

The Dow Jones was down 141 points, or 0.43%, to 32,511 at 10 a.m. EDT, while the S&P 500 lost 21 points, or 0.55%, to 3,835.

The Nasdaq fell 67 points, or 0.62%, to 10,824.

The Fed's critical two-day meeting will conclude Wednesday as investors hope for a more dovish tone and will focus on the guidance policymakers will provide via a statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments about scaling back future rate increases.

The probability of the Fed raising rates by 75 basis points stood at 88.2% shortly after markets opened, according to the FedWatch Tool provided by US-based global markets company Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. The probability of a hike of 100 basis points was at 11.8%

The bank has increased its benchmark interest rate by a total of 300 points since March in an attempt to tame record inflation that is still hovering around its highest level in more than 40 years.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 2.8% to 26.54. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 0.2% to 4.044%.

The dollar index lost 0.16% to 111.31, still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro gained 0.2% to $0.9893 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.26% to $1,652 and silver increasing 0.4% to $19.71.

Oil prices were down around 0.4%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $94.31 per barrel, while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was around $88.06.