U.S. stocks open modestly higher ahead of Fed policy decision

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher Wednesday, as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 0.2% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP gained 0.1%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The Fed will announce its decision on interest rates at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, with many investors expecting it will hike its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 5% to 5.25%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a press conference on the central bank’s policy decision…