Risk assets were mostly higher in a quiet session on Wednesday, with investors reluctant to make big bets as they waited for a signal from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its first post-crisis rate hike. Equities in the United States and some Asian markets were higher, though Europe was lower as uncertainty continued to swirl around Greece’s debt situation and whether the country would be able to avoid a default on IMF loans. Trading will likely be light ahead of the Fed statement, due at 2:00 p.m. ET. That will be followed by Chair Janet Yellen’s news conference half an hour later, with analysts expecting her to focus on signs the economy is recovering after a bumpy start to the year. Many investors expect the Fed to signal that U.S. interest rates will be increased in September, making for the first rate rise in almost a decade. “I think Yellen has hedged her bets very carefully and remains data-dependent and I don’t see a change in that strategy at the end of the meeting,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York. “Barring an unforeseen event, the Fed will not be keen to rock the boat.” In a sign of the market’s caution ahead of the statement, the MSCI International ACWI Price Index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.1 percent on the day. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 27.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,932.3, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,100.06 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 14.35 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,069.91. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 10/32 in price, pushing the yield up to 2.3488 percent. The U.S. dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was flat. In Greece, euro zone finance minister are due to meet on Thursday, but there was talk of plans being put in place for another emergency summit at the weekend. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of Eurogroup finance ministers, said there was a “very small” chance that a deal would be reached at the meeting. Investors are concerned that the absence of a deal could result in Greece leaving the euro and the European Union, the ramifications of which are uncertain. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 fell 0.1 percent while the euro rose less than 0.1 percent. Overnight in Asia the mood had seemed a bit more positive. Shares in Hong Kong .HSI rose 0.7 percent, a modest rebound after two straight daily declines of more than 1 percent. An index of shares in Shanghai .SSEC jumped 1.7 percent. In the commodity space, U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 1.2 percent to $ 60.67, lifted by strong demand and falling stockpiles. Brent crude LCOc1 advanced 1.7 percent to $ 64.80 per barrel. Gold prices fell 0.3 percent, while silver was flat. Copper CMCU3 was down 0.1 percent, slightly building on recent weakness, which saw the metal down more than 1 percent in both Monday’s and Tuesday’s sessions. (Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal)
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