The Latest: Wall Street awaits Fed decision

WASHINGTON – The latest on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, which ends at 2 p.m. with the release of a policy statement, followed by a news conference by Chair Janet Yellen (all times are Eastern):

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10:15 a.m.

Stocks are higher on Wall Street ahead of the Fed’s decision on interest rates. Gains are led by energy and information technology.

Most economists expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged. They think policymakers want more time to evaluate the health of the U.S. economy, measure global risks and gauge whether inflation will soon reach the Fed’s 2 per cent target rate.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 82 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 18,211. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 11 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 2,150. The Nasdaq composite rose 31 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,272.

Overnight, the Bank of Japan left its short-term policy rate at negative 0.1 per cent but announced a policy tweak. It will adjust its purchases of government bonds, the main asset it is buying, to try to help lift yields on longer-term bonds. That would help life insurers and other financial companies earn more from their huge holdings of those bonds.