Wall Street stocks opened solidly higher Wednesday following good results from Microsoft, as investors await a key Federal Reserve decision and monitor US-Russia tensions over Ukraine.
Better-than-expected Microsoft results due to robust demand for digital software helped lift large tech giants such as Apple and Amazon ahead of their reports in the coming days.
The good results also shifted attention away from Ukraine after the United States on Tuesday threatened severe sanctions on Russia.
Markets are awaiting a Fed decision later Wednesday expected to spell out the US central bank's roadmap for tightening monetary policy. Worries about the Fed pivot have weighed on stocks throughout 2022 so far.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.0 percent at 34,648.02.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.5 percent to 4,419.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.9 percent to 13,797.04.
Equities have had a topsy-turvy week so far, overcoming a huge deficit on Monday to finish higher before pulling back on Tuesday.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
