The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced on Wednesday morning ahead of the latest interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve as the recent pop in oil prices eased and Treasury yields backed off multi-year highs.
The blue-chip recovered Wednesday from big losses on Tuesday, piling 185.84 points to 34,703.57.
The S&P 500 index poked ahead 7.45 points to 4,451.40.
The NASDAQ index descended 36.33 points to 13,641.85.
Caterpillar added more than 1% and Deere climbed more than 2%, amid hopes that the Fed could successfully bring down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady at 2 p.m. ET, but investors will be paying close attention to the summary of economic projections and the press conference of Fed chair Jerome Powell for clues as to whether the central bank will hike one more time this year.
The central bank hiked its benchmark rate in July to the highest level in more than 22 years. Fed funds futures prices signal just a slight chance of about 29% that the central bank would raise rates in November.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury surged, lowering yields to 4.33% from Tuesday's 4.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 61 cents to $91.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices pointed up $12.70 to $1,964 U.S. an ounce.