27 January,2016 06:41 AM IST | | IANS
US stocks bounced back amid oil recovery in the morning session on Tuesday, as Wall Street eyed the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting
New York: US stocks bounced back amid oil recovery in the morning session on Tuesday, as Wall Street eyed the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 242.16 points, or 1.52 percent, to 16,127.38. The S&P 500 gained 21.63 points, or 1.15 percent, to 1,898.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 38.38 points, or 0.85 percent, to 4,556.87.
The Federal Open Market Committee began its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and will release a statement on Wednesday afternoon. Analysts predicted that the Fed won't take any rate action at this meeting amid oil weakness. However, investors will look into the statement for further clues on the economic environment and the future path of tightening.
The volatility in oil prices has dominated market sentiment recently. Oil prices, which have plummeted about 17 percent since the beginning of the year, jumped about 4 percent around midday Tuesday. On Monday, oil prices tumbled over 5 percent on profit taking after Friday's surge, as Iraq announced record-high oil production.
On the economic front, US consumer confidence also came out positive. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 98.1 in January, up from 96.3 in December and above market consensus of 96.0. In corporate news, shares of 3M surged over 4 percent around midday Tuesday after reporting quarterly results that beat market estimates.
On Monday, US stocks suffered big losses, as a renewed decline in oil prices weighed on Wall Street ahead of the Fed's monetary policy meeting.
