U.S. markets opened higher ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final rate decision of this year, according to the Associated Press. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.
The Fed is widely expected to announce the third cut of the year to its main interest rate today, and officials are also scheduled to unveil projections about where they see rates heading in upcoming years.
Expectations for coming cuts have been on the downswing, though, as inflation looks like it could stubbornly stick above the Fed’s 2% target after slowing sharply from its peak above 9%.
Bitcoin set a record above $108,000 on Tuesday before pulling back, according to CoinDesk.com. It’s catapulted from roughly $44,000 at the start of the year, riding a recent wave of enthusiasm that President-elect Donald Trump will create a system that’s more favorable to digital currencies.
In other dealings early today, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 54 cents to $70.19 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 53 cents to $73.72 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 153.71 Japanese yen from 153.50 yen.
