US stocks finished higher Wednesday after a volatile period of afternoon trade that came as investors interpreted the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting which suggest US central bankers will be patient about interest rate rises.
The minutes from the Fed’s January meeting indicated that bankers have not yet decided what increases to rates might be required later this year.
After swinging between gains and losses, the tech-laden Nasdaq just barely finished up for the eighth straight day, edging up by 0.03%, or 2.3 points, to 7,489.
The S&P 500 also ended up 0.18% to hit 2,784, led by Garmin Ltd, Devon Energy and Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.
Elsewhere, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.24%, or 63 points, pushed up by Caterpillar, DowDuPont and Boeing.
Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX finished 0.59% higher at 16,031 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks added 7.19 points to hit 1,581.66 by the closing bell.
12:29 pm: Wall Street slips before release of Fed's latest minutes
US stocks faltered in afternoon trade as investors braced themselves for the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its policy meeting in January, which is expected at 2 pm.
Investors will look to the minutes for further clues about the direction of monetary policy.
Investors are also on edge about a new round of trade discussions between the US and China, which kicked off in Washington DC on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial average swung into the red to lose 32 points and hit 25,859, held back by Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walmart and Pfizer.
The S&P 500 also edged lower, shedding .06% to 2,778, led lower by CVS Health, Concho Resources and Henry Schein.
Elsewhere, the tech-laden Nasdaq lost 0.22% to 7,470 while up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX bucked the trend and stayed positive, adding 0.45% to hit 16,008.
Small-cap stocks outperformed the broader market, with the Russell 2000 index adding 0.37% to 1,580.
10:00 am: Wall Street opens tentative ahead of Fed meeting minutes
Wall Street opened slightly higher Wednesday as investors waited for further details from the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting.
The Federal Reserve will release minutes from its January meeting at 2 pm ET. The minutes will provide clues to the thinking behind the central bank officials’ decision last month to hold interest rates at a band of 2.25% to 2.5%, following four rate hikes in 2018.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed into the green and hovered at 25,892.42, led higher by Caterpillar, Boeing and McDonald's Corp.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 edged into the green at 2,769, led higher by Garmin Ltd, Devon Energy Corp and Cadence Design Systems.
The Nasdaq Composite index was up 17 points or 0.23% to 7,503.83, led higher by NetEase Inc and Micron Technology.
Elsewhere, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks was flat at 1,568.44.
7:15 am: Wall Street seen making lackluster start as Federal Reserve minutes under scrutiny
Wall Street shares are seen lower at the bell as European markets go the other way and traders await minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting.
The US central bank decided to halt its plan to raise interest rates twice in 2019 amid a weaker outlook, so the details will be poured over to see if there are any clues as to timings on future hikes.
In corporate America, another batch of results is expected Wednesday. Among them, CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS. and media giant Gannett Co Inc (NYSE: GCI) will release earnings before the open.
-Fed minutes
-Yuan pressure
-Brexit and exit
-Markets rise
-Oil 3-month highhttps://t.co/uLvOyguKrt pic.twitter.com/Dn0Dyt7jbS
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) 20 February 2019
Also, President Trump appears to have dialed down the rhetoric on his March 1 deadline over a trade deal.
Yesterday, US stocks rebounded after a slow start, led by retail giant Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which posted a decent quarterly, and the continued optimism over US-China trade talks.
There are hopes that the US and China will strike a permanent trade pact as talks between the world’s two biggest economies continue this week in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up just over eight points at 25,891, while futures today are down 27.
The Nasdaq Exchange closed up around 14 at 7,486 and futures midweek are around flat, down half a point.
The S&P 500 index gained around four points at 2,779. Futures Wednesday are down 1.75.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at spreadbetter Spreadex in London said of the upcoming Wall Street session: "The day’s biggest scheduled event, the latest Fed meeting minutes, isn’t until this evening, so the Dow will have its ear to the ground for any rumour and hearsay emanating from the US-China trade talks in Washington."
In London, FTSE 100 is up around 22 at the time of writing, while the German DAX is ahead by around 32 points. The French CAC 40 is up around 15 at 5,175.
In Toronto, the TSX closed up over 99 points at 15,937.