US STOCKS-Wall Street rises on upbeat earnings as Fed looms

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* Starbucks sees business 'steadily recovering', shares up
* Boeing shares rise after results
* Advanced Micro Devices surges after revenue forecast raise
* Indexes up: Dow 0.07%, S&P 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.63%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on
Wednesday as a slew of positive earnings updates and hopes for a
dovish tone from the Federal Reserve overshadowed concerns about
next steps for the government's coronavirus support plan.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O jumped 12% after the
chipmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast. AMD shares were among the top boosts to the benchmark S&P
500 and the Nasdaq. The Philadelphia chip index .SOX rose
1.1%.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O climbed 4% after the coffee chain
said business was "steadily recovering" worldwide and it would
return to profitability in the current quarter. Of the 163 S&P 500 firms that have reported results, 79.1%
have surpassed a low bar of quarterly profit expectations,
according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Recent data pointed to a possible slowdown in business and
hiring as infections spiked in southern and western U.S. states,
and deaths from the novel coronavirus approached 150,000 in the
country on Wednesday. Investors will keep a close watch on how the U.S. central
bank addresses these economic risks at the end of a two-day
policy meeting. The Fed's statement is expected at 2 p.m. ET
(1800 GMT), which will be followed by Chair Jerome Powell's
press conference. Emergency monetary stimulus measures along with trillions of
dollars in fiscal support have been pivotal in driving a sharp
recovery in the U.S. stock markets since March.
"The biggest catalyst within the market right now — for at
least the bullish sentiment — is where's the next wave of
liquidity," said Andrew Smith, chief investment strategist,
Delos Capital Advisors, based in Dallas.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his
administration and Democrats in Congress were far apart in their
efforts to come together on a coronavirus relief bill, and he
suggested he was not in a hurry to strike a deal. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 18.15 points, or 0.07%, at 26,397.43, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 13.62 points, or 0.42%, at 3,232.06. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 65.22 points, or 0.63%, at 10,467.32.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher with
technology stocks providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500
index.
Boeing Co BA.N slipped 1.9% as the planemaker slashed
production on its widebody programs and reported a
bigger-than-expected quarterly loss due to the fallout from the
pandemic. Industrial conglomerate General Electric Co GE.N saw less
cash outflow than estimated in the second quarter even as it
reported a wider-than-expected loss. Its shares fell 3%.
The chief executives of Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Facebook
Inc FB.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O
are set to face a congressional hearing on antitrust on
Wednesday, marking their first time appearing before lawmakers
together. All four companies are set to report results on Thursday.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.65-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.97-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and five new lows.