US stocks close higher as Fed meeting starts

US stock indices closed on a green note as the Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting to discuss the monetary policy, amid anticipation of major tech companies' earnings reports this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3%, or 136 points, to 44,850 points, the highest level after the index crossed the 45,000-point mark on Dec. 4.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index increased 0.9%, or 55 points, to 6,067 points, and the Nasdaq Composite rose around 2%, or 391 points, to 19,733 points.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 edged up 0.35% to 531.6 points; an all-time high.

The CAC 40 lost 0.1% to 7,897 points, while FTSE 100 rose 0.35% to 8,533 points and the DAX 40 advanced 0.7% to 21,430 points

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4 %, or 548 points, to 39,016 points. TOPIX remained flat at 2,756 points.

In the oil market, futures contracts for Brent crude for March 2025 delivery added 0.55%, or $0.41, to $77.49 per barrel.

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for March delivery rose 0.8%, or $0.60, to $73.77 per barrel.

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for February delivery inched up over 1%, or $29.1 to $2,767.50 per ounce.