(Updates with US afternoon trading)
* Fed expected to keep rates unchanged
* Financials rebound from prior losses
* Delta and American raise revenue guidance
* S&P 500 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.58%, Dow 0.29%
By Noel Randewich and Johann M Cherian
March 17 (Reuters) – Wall Street rose on Tuesday, with gains in Delta Air Lines and other travel stocks, while the Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting amid investors’ worries about high oil prices and the Middle East conflict.
Airlines and travel stocks rebounded from losses in recent weeks related to the US and Israeli attack on Iran and surging energy prices. Delta Air Lines rallied 6.9% and American Airlines Group climbed 3.4% after both companies raised their revenue guidance for the current quarter.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings rose 3% and Expedia Group gained 5%.
FED POLICYMAKERS WEIGH INFLATION CONCERNS
Concerns of prolonged supply disruptions due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route have kept crude prices near $100 a barrel. Worries about high oil prices will be in sharp focus as Fed policymakers weigh inflation concerns against signs of a weakening jobs market.
The central bank started its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and traders expect the Fed to keep borrowing costs unchanged in its decision on Wednesday. Rate futures suggest expectations of one 25-basis-point cut toward the end of the year, according to LSEG-compiled data, down from around two before the war.
“The place where we could get in trouble with this is if the Fed views the oil shock as inflationary and decides to respond with more hawkish monetary policy,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management.
“The best-case scenario would be some confirmation tomorrow that the Fed is monitoring the situation, but kind of adheres to what they’ve done in the past, which is try to look through big oil shocks.”
Worries about pricey AI-related stocks, along with uncertainty about the Middle East conflict, have dropped the S&P 500 almost 4% from its record high close on January 27.
The index is trading at about 21 times expected earnings, down from over 23 in November, but still above its average forward price-earnings ratio of 19 over the past five years, according to LSEG data. The Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates for a second straight month, warning of a material risk to inflation due to the Middle East war. Ride-hailing app Uber added almost 6% after announcing plans to roll out robotaxis in 28 cities starting next year, powered by Nvidia’s autonomous driving software.
The S&P 500 financials sector index gained 0.7%, rebounding from sharp losses in the week before, when worries about private credit quality rattled investors.
Asset managers Blackstone, Apollo Global and KKR gained over 3%.
The S&P 500 was up 0.43% at 6,727.91 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.58% to 22,502.83 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.29% at 47,082.69 points.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by energy, up 1.43%, followed by a 0.92% gain in consumer discretionary.
Energy companies Occidental and ConocoPhillips rose more than 1% each, tracking higher crude prices.
Honeywell International dipped 1.4% after the industrial company said the Middle East conflict could affect its first-quarter revenue. The conflict has also delayed a planned summit between the US and China on President Donald Trump’s request.
Eli Lilly lost almost 6% after brokerage HSBC downgraded the drugmaker to “reduce” from “hold.”
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 2.9-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 20 new highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 44 new highs and 114 new lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Devika Syamnath, Rod Nickel)
