(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)Wall Street shares edged higher at midsession on Tuesday after solid gains by oil prices lifted a market counter-weighed by earnings season. The S&P500 was up 0.02% at 2088 while the S&P Midcap 400 was up 0.5% at 1477 and the S&P Smallcap 600 was up 0.8% at 701. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 3.1% at $43.94 - having earlier scaled $44.14 its highest since early November. Checking gains investors were uneasy as the Federal Reserve's two-day rate-setting meeting commenced while drug developer Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) plummeted by more than a third after a key FDA panel said its muscular dystrophy drug eteplirsen based on evidence was not effective. The shares were last seen down 26% at $11.18. Among bellwether stocks Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) the consumer products behemoth reported a better-than-expected third quarter profit boosted by cost-cutting and higher selling prices. However sales declined for the seventh quarter in a row as higher prices weighed on volumes and as the company consolidates its product portfolio to focus on faster-growing brands. P&G shares were down 2.2% at $79.61. Open US shares painted a mixed picture at the open as traders digested a raft of earnings and attention turns to the start of the Fed policy meeting today. The benchmark Dow Jones was down around 10 at 17965 while the Nasdaq was also seeing red - the index 8.69 lower to stand at 4887. The broader based S&P500 was up a shade at 2088 - up 0.05%. The S&P400 Midcap was up 0.24% to 1472 while the S&P600smallcap was also higher - up 0.32% to stand at 698.47. The most common view is that Janet Yellen Fed chair will strike a cautious tone on interest rates after the two day meet amid tempered economic growth. Oil is going higher providing a boon for oil stocks with US crude up 1.69% to stand at US$43.36 a barrel. In terms of corporate movers grocery store chain SuperValu (NYSE:SVU) jumped 6.31% to US$5.48 as its profits beat estimates. Elsewhere drug developer Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT) plummeted over 35% to stand at US$9.54 after a key FDA panel said its muscular dystrophy drug eteplirsen based on evidence was not effective.
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