US stocks advance during early trade, helped by recovery in tech stocks

A goodish recovery in technology stocks lifted major US equity indices during opening hour of trade on Tuesday amid cautious trade ahead of the closely watched two-day FOMC meeting, starting today.

With the Federal Reserve unanimously expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday, investors are likely to opt for a wait and watch strategy and would closely scrutinize the monetary policy statement, and subsequent press conference, for signals over further rate-hike moves this year.

During early trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched fresh record high level beyond 21,300, while the broader S&P 500 Index added around 7-points to 2,437. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed the broader indices and gained in excess of 40-points to recover back above the 6,200 mark.

On the economic data front, the producer price index (PPI) remained flat during May, following a sharp 0.5% increase in April, and reaffirmed persistent inflationary pressure in the US economy.