U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates and its assessment of the state of the economy, while consumer-products giant Proctor & Gamble Co. and automaker General Motors Corp. reported better-than-anticipated results.

Most investors expect the central bank to again lower its benchmark fed funds rate, this time by a quarter point, to 2 percent. However, many also believe policymakers put rates on hold to fight inflation.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its decision at 2:15 p.m. EDT.

As of 12:39 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95.01 points, or 0.74 percent to 12,926.95, the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 12.24 points, or 0.5 percent to 2,438.34 and the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 4.09 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,395.03.

GM, recently up 12.9 percent after the automaker reported a first-quarter net loss of $3.25 billion, or $5.74 a share, compared with net income of $62 million a year earlier.

Proctor & Gamble shares climbed 3.7 percent after the consumer-products giant reported earnings that topped forecasts.

Late Tuesday, Citigroup said it's raising $3 billion selling new common shares in a bid to rebuild capital after huge losses from the credit crunch. However, the blue-chip financial giant said it ended up raising $4.5 billion in light of strong demand. Shares of Citigroup shed 3 percent to $25.54.

Citigroup