NEW YORK, April 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors awaited a key decision on interest rate from the Federal Reserve.

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Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 387.69 points, or 1.61 percent, to 24,489.24. The S&P 500 advanced 52.28 points, or 1.83 percent, to 2,915.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 166.86 points, or 1.94 percent, to 8,774.59.

The market movement came despite grim U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) data.

U.S. economic activity in the first quarter contracted at an annual rate of 4.8 percent amid the COVID-19 impact, the biggest decline since the Great Recession, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The decline in first quarter real GDP was, in part, due to the response to the spread of COVID-19, as governments issued "stay-at-home" orders in March, according to the "advance" estimate released by the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Wall Street was awaiting the Fed's monetary policy decision which is scheduled to be announced Wednesday afternoon.