Major US stock indexes rose moderately, helped by the outcome of the Fed meeting. Support to the market also continued to provide expectations of progress in the trade dispute between the United States and China.

Beijing hinted at the possibility of a positive outcome in negotiations with Washington after the two largest economies in the world agreed to resume their turbulent discussions at the G20 meeting this month. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said preparations began for his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump has repeatedly threatened to introduce additional tariffs on Chinese goods.

As for the Fed meeting, the heads of the Central Bank decided to leave the interest rate on federal funds in the range of 2.25% -2.50%. However, they signaled that they would lower it in the coming months if the outlook for the economy deteriorated. FOMC expected growth to continue, but "uncertainty about its prospects has increased." "Given this uncertainty and restrained inflationary pressure, the committee will closely monitor what the incoming information means for the prospects of the economy, and will act accordingly to support economic growth," the Fed said. The forecasts for interest rates showed that 17 executives are expecting that the Central Bank will have to lower the rate this year, while seven of them predict two rate reductions of a quarter percentage point each. Only one manager believes that the Fed will have to raise the rate in this year. do, with the remaining eight executives believe that the rate will remain unchanged. The majority of managers expect that the rate will be lower than the current level by the end of 2020.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (22 out of 30). The growth leader was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH; + 2.04%). Outsider were shares of Dow Inc. (DOW; -2.06%)

Almost all sectors of the S & P recorded an increase. The utilities sector (+ 1.0%) and the health sector (+ 1.0%) grew the most. The decline showed only the conglomerates sector (-0.1%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 26,504.00 +38.46 +0.15%

S & P 500 2,926.46 +8.71 +0.30%

Nasdaq 100 7,987.32 +33.44 +0.42%

U.S. stock-index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors were cautious ahead of the Fed's policy statement, which could open the door to future interest rate cuts.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

American Express (AXP) resumed with a Buy at BofA/Merrill; target $145