U.S. markets headed higher Wednesday morning in advance of a critical Federal Reserve policy decision to be announced in the afternoon.

The Fed's Open Market Committee will announce policy decisions after a two-day meeting. Investors are typically cautious before an announcement, this one coming with lending rates at historic lows and a tentative recovery underway.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 67.64 points, 0.69 percent, to 9,839.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.77 percent, 8.02, to 1,053.43. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.37 percent, 7.59, to 2,064.91.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell 9/32 to yield 3.503 percent.

The euro rose to $1.4812 from Tuesday's $1.4712. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 90.75 yen from Tuesday's 90.34 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 22.66, 0.42 percent, to 9,844.31.