The major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange opened with a slight increase. Market attention is focused on the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
As of 9:43 a.m. Eastern Time on the 18th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43.65 points (0.10%) at 42,259.45 at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the S&P 500 was up 10.07 points (0.17%) at 5,992.79. The Nasdaq Composite is moving up 14.24 points (0.07%) at 19,535.33.
The armed conflict between Israel and Iran has continued for the sixth day, escalating geopolitical tensions.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "Iran will never surrender," adding that "if the United States intervenes in the war, it will suffer irreparable damage."
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its interest rate decision at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The market anticipates that rates will remain unchanged at this meeting. Attention is focused on comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and implications for future currency policy direction.
This Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will also release a dot plot showing the interest rate forecasts from the Commissioners.
By sector, most are showing an upward trend. Consumer discretionary is up 0.6%, financials are up 0.5%, and industrials are up 0.4%. In contrast, healthcare and real estate are down 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
By stock, software corporation Oracle is seeing its shares rise 2% following positive opinions from Wall Street. Guggenheim raised Oracle's target price to the highest level in the industry.
Consulting corporation Korn Ferry's stock is up 9% after posting results above market expectations for the first quarter of the year.
European stock markets are mostly down. The Euro Stoxx 50 index is down 0.65%. Germany's DAX index is down 0.68%, France's CAC 40 index is down 0.55%, while the UK's FTSE index is up only 0.03%.
International oil prices have risen for two consecutive days. As of 9:58 a.m. local time, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July delivery was recorded at $75.75 per barrel, up 1.22% from the previous session. The price of Brent crude for August delivery, a global benchmark, is up 0.98% at $77.20 per barrel.