Wall Street advanced for a second straight session Tuesday as investors placed bets that the Federal Reserve wouldn't indicate that it was leaning toward an interest rate hike.Market watchers are anticipating that the Fed today will leave rates on hold and say that economic growth is cooling although inflation remains a concern. The central bank has maintained this general stance for several months now, suggesting that rates are staying put.
Investors would prefer a shift in posture toward cutting rates; such a move could boost consumer spending and make mortgages cheaper. But they appeared to be content to hear the status quo for now, and were tentatively optimistic that a rate hike wasn't in the offing given that recent economic data had shown slowing growth and that inflation, although high, had not been running rampant.
"What is likely is no change at all. We might get a little commentary on the housing market nationwide
but we don't think there's much action in the cards," said Jim Russell, director of core equity strategy for Fifth-Third Asset Management in Cincinnati.
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