Dow up 1.8% as investors await Fed action

US markets have opened higher after a calmer atmosphere saw the FTSE 100 recover the day's losses.

The S&P was up 1.6% at 1,137 shortly after the open, a day after it closed down some 6.66%.

Other major US indices mirrored the S&P's rise, with the Dow Jones industrial average up by 1.8%, or 194 points, to 11,004. The Nasdaq was 1.3% higher at 2,087.

The FTSE was 0.5% higher at 5,098 shortly after the US opening bell, having earlier returned to parity after it lost 5% of its value in early trading.

Commodity prices have also recovered in line with equities, with Brent crude rising by 0.3% to $104 a barrel after it dipped below $100 for the first time in six months.

Ten-year treasury yields have risen from 2.31% to 2.36%, but the dollar has continued to hit record lows against the Swiss franc, falling below 0.74 francs for the first time.

Gold earlier reached another record high of $1,778 before falling back to below $1,740, as the markets continue to await the outcome of today's monthly meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee.

The Fed is expected to issue a statement at 7:15pm GMT, with many market participants looking for the central bank to reaffirm its commitment to monetary stimulus measures.