Stocks rallied after reports that talks among Russia and Ukraine are progressing. Treasuries and the dollar retreated before the Federal Reserve policy decision. Oil fell.The S&P 500 climbed after the Financial Times reported that Russia and Ukraine have made significant progress on a neutrality plan to end the war, citing three people involved in the negotiations. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed major benchmarks, while U.S.-listed Chinese shares soared after the Asian nation made a strong vow to ease regulatory crackdowns. Treasury two-year yields traded above 1.85 per cent.A proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral country but retain its own armed forces “could be viewed as a certain kind of compromise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, hinting at possible progress in peace negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered an emotional address to the U.S. Congress, appealing for help from Americans to fend off the Russian invasion. Growth in U.S. retail sales slowed in February after surging a month earlier, while homebuilder sentiment fell in March to a six-month low. The figures come ahead of a Fed rate decision later Wednesday, with policy makers expected to raise rates for the first time since 2018 in an effort to curb the hottest inflation in 40 years. At the same time, officials need to be cognizant of the impact of tighter monetary policy on economic growth. NN: No surprises here. The Fed blew it. We all remember transitory inflation. Now with the world in a stagflation they are in deep shit… This rate increase circus is just a floor show. This will be decided in the coming months and it will be ugly