Nasdaq index continued to rise 1.1% on Wednesday as investors awaited a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve later in the day.

S&P 500 traded 0.73% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.54%.

The central bank is expected to leave its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range, when it releases its policy statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).

Investors will look for whether the Fed keeps its outlook for two rate cuts this year. They will also listen to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for clues on how he sees the economy against a backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and major trade partners.

Along with its policy decision, the Fed will unveil its quarterly projections on GDP, unemployment and inflation.

Big techs rallied. Tesla up 3%; Apple up 2.7%; Nvidia up 2%; Microsoft up 1%.

Tesla rose 3% after tumbling 5.3% on Tuesday and 4.8% on Monday. Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and left the price target at $425. Coming into Wednesday, shares have declined 44% this year, in part because of weaker sales and heightened competition, worries that CEO Elon Musk's political activities have been turning off buyers, and politically motivated protests at Tesla facilities. Musk appeared on Fox News's Hannity program on Tuesday and addressed the protests. "It's really come as quite a shock to me that there's this level of ... hatred and violence from the [political] left," said Musk. "Tesla is a peaceful company, we've never done anything awful."

Nvidia rose 2% after CEO Jensen Huang, at the chip maker's annual AI GTC conference on Tuesday, announced a more powerful version of its Blackwell AI chips, two AI desktop computers, an expanded autonomous-driving partnership with General Motors, and new AI models for robots. Nvidia shares fell 3.4% on Tuesday, the second day of Nvidia's conference, and were the session's worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. GM, meanwhile, slipped 0.3% in premarket trading.