NEW YORK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday as investors navigated an ongoing surge in oil prices and awaited further guidance from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 46,993.26. The S&P 500 added 0.25 percent to 6,716.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 0.47 percent to 22,479.53.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green. The energy and consumer discretionary sectors led the gainers, advancing 1.02 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the health and consumer staples sectors led the laggards, declining 0.92 percent and 0.48 percent.
Oil prices remained a central focus for markets. The uncertainty continued to drive energy markets higher, as West Texas Intermediate crude futures for April delivery, the U.S. oil benchmark, climbed 2.9 percent to settle at 96.21 U.S. dollars a barrel. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, closed the session at 103.42 dollars a barrel.
The high oil prices present a challenge for the Federal Reserve and other major central banks preparing to transition toward interest rate cuts.
The U.S. central bank kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with expectations for near-term rate cuts having cooled significantly. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are currently pricing in a 99 percent probability that rates will remain unchanged.
On the corporate front, investors closely parsed developments from Nvidia's annual developer conference, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a series of new partnerships and projected 1 trillion dollars in chip sales through 2027. Despite the optimistic outlook, Nvidia closed 0.69 percent lower.
Conversely, Amazon rose 1.63 percent, following reports that CEO Andy Jassy said during an internal meeting that artificial intelligence would help Amazon Web Services double its previously forecast sales.
In other notable market moves, U.S.-listed shares of Tencent Music Entertainment Group plunged nearly 25 percent after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that fell well short of investor expectations.
Meanwhile, the airline sector experienced strong upward momentum despite soaring jet fuel prices. Delta Air Lines surged 6.56 percent after raising its current-quarter revenue outlook and maintaining its profit projections, citing stronger-than-expected March sales. The positive guidance boosted rival carriers, with both American Airlines Group and United Airlines rising more than 3 percent on expectations of higher revenue this quarter. ■