US stocks rise toward records as Wall Street waits for an announcement from the Federal Reserve

U.S. stocks are hanging around their records as Wall Street waits to hear from the Federal Reserve about interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Wednesday. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 102 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. All three indexes are coming off all-time highs. Caterpillar helped lead the market after reporting a better profit for the summer than analysts expected. The bond market was also relatively still as the countdown ticked to the Fed’s afternoon announcement. The focus will be on if it gives any hints about whether more cuts to interest rates will come later this year and next.

Wall Street was pointing toward gains in premarket trading Wednesday as markets focus on the latest corporate earnings ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this afternoon.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.3% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. Nasdaq futures were 0.5% higher. A day earlier, all three indexes set all-time highs for a third straight session.