Stocks extend September rally ahead of Fed meeting

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are climbing, extending their September rally into a fourth week as traders eye this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

There is a growing expectation the Fed’s rate-setting committee might relaunch programs to buy Treasurys and mortgage bonds in an effort to further stimulate the struggling economy. At the very least, it might hint at future plans to make such moves.

A strong economy would help corporate profits. It could also turn investors toward stocks because returns there could be significantly better than bonds, whose yields would likely fall if the Fed starts buying them soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 20, or 0.2 percent, at 10,629. The S&P 500 is up 3, or 0.2 percent, at 1,128, while the Nasdaq composite is up 6, or 0.3 percent, at 2,321.