1. U.S. stocks were boosted by gains in Apple on Wednesday, and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement later in the day.
Apple (O:AAPL) sold 48 million iPhones in the quarter and reported a near doubling of revenue from China, allaying concerns about its business in the world's second-largest economy.
The stock was up 2.4 percent at $117.27, providing the biggest boost to the three major indexes.
2. Apple Inc (O:AAPL) reported blockbuster iPhone sales in China, suggesting that worries about the company's growth trajectory in the world's second-largest economy are overdone.
Apple's shares rose nearly 3 percent in early trading on Wednesday.
The stock has lost about 7 percent of its value in the past three months as investors fret that the slowing Chinese economy would derail Apple's successful run in the country.
Apple's sales in Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, nearly doubled in the third quarter, accounting for nearly a quarter of the company's total sales.
3. The dollar pushed lower against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as sentiment on the greenback became fragile ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated policy statement due later in the day.
The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 120.35.
The Fed was not expected to raise interest rates later Wednesday, but many investors still expected the U.S. central bank to signal that rates could still rise at its December meeting.
4. West Texas Intermediate oil futures extended strong gains on Wednesday, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose less than expected last week, easing concerns over weak demand.
Crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged $1.70, or 3.94%, to trade at $44.90 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $44.57 prior to the release of the inventory data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by 3.37 million barrels in the week ended October 23.
5. Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Wednesday American International Group Inc (N:AIG) should split its life and mortgage insurance units into three public companies to avert the U.S. government's "too-big-to-fail" tag.
Icahn, who disclosed that he owns a "large stake" in AIG, also said in an open letter to the company's CEO that it should begin a "much needed" cost control program to better compete with peers. AIG shares rose as much as 4 percent to $63.44 in early trading.
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