U.S. stocks were muted ahead of Fed rate decision

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were muted as investors await this afternoon’s Federal Reserve announcement on interest rates and its latest economic forecasts.

At 10:41 ET (14:41 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23 points or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.2%.

The Fed is trying to balance its fight against inflation with its work to stabilize the banking system, which has been in turmoil since the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier in March and the rescue of Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) last weekend by UBS (SIX:UBSG). 

Futures traders largely expect the Fed to raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point later today. Before the banking troubles, the expectations were for a half-point hike. Rapid interest rate increases over the last year have been blamed for pressuring banks with paper losses on bond holdings.

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) shares were up 2.6%. Banks led by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) are exploring ways to inject more money into the bank, which has hired advisors to explore strategic options. 

The Fed’s decision comes out at 14:00 ET (18:00 GMT), and Chair Jerome Powell is holding a press conference at 14:30.

Shares of Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VORB) jumped 47% after a Reuters report that the company is close to a $200 million investment from Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown.

GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) shares rose 45% after the gaming retailer reported a surprise profit for the fourth quarter.

Oil drifted higher. Crude Oil WTI Futures were up 0.3% to $69.94 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures were up 0.5% to $75.71 a barrel. Gold Futures rose 0.3% to $1,947.