U.S. stocks open higher as week packed with corporate earnings, Fed meeting begins

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as investors braced for a week replete with corporate earnings reports, along with a critical meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee. The S&P 500 climbed 7 points, or 0.2%, to 3,968. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 64 points, or 0.2%, to 31,966. The Nasdaq Composite gained 12 points, or 0.1%, to 11,844. Stocks climbed last week, notching their second week of gains out of the last three. More than 160 S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings this week, according to FactSet data --- that's equivalent to nearly one-third of the index's components. The Fed's two-day policy meeting begins Tuesday, and concludes Wednesday with the announcement of its rate-hike decision, followed by a press conference led by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Futures markets are presently pricing in a 75 basis point rate hike, although the Fed signaled earlier this month that it could consider a full percentage-point hike after inflation rose to a new four-decade high in June.

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