NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday with the Dow closing above the 36,000 threshold for the first time, as investors are awaiting a key decision from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 138.79 points, or 0.39 percent, to 36,052.63. The S&P 500 was up 16.98 points, or 0.37 percent, to 4,630.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 53.69 points, or 0.34 percent, to 15,649.60.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green with materials up 1.1 percent, outpacing the rest. The energy and the consumer discretionary sectors, however, struggled.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

The U.S. central bank will conclude its two-day meeting on Wednesday, followed by a key policy announcement and news conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

“Nothing is expected to happen with rates. But traders are expecting the Fed to finally begin their long-awaited, and widely anticipated, bond taper,” Kevin Matras, executive vice president at Zacks Investment Research, said Tuesday in a note.

Meanwhile, investors eyed quarterly results as the earnings season continues.

As of Tuesday, about 83 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings have topped analysts’ earnings expectations, according to figures from FactSet.