S&P 500, Nasdaq post record closing highs after Fed minutes
Reuters
Published Jul 07, 2021 07:06AM ET
Updated Jul 07, 2021 07:01PM ET
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record closing highs after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting indicated officials may not be ready yet to move on tightening policy.
According to the minutes of the U.S. central bank's June policy meeting, Fed officials felt substantial further progress on the economic recovery "was generally seen as not having yet been met," but agreed they should be poised to act if inflation or other risks materialized.
"I read this as effectively a dovish set of notes simply because they don't feel as a group that they have enough certainty around the situation to make any changes at all," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Treasury yields edged lower following the Fed minutes, while stocks mostly edged higher.
The minutes reflected a divided Fed wrestling with new inflation risks but still relatively high unemployment.
After its meeting and statement last month, investors began to anticipate the Fed would move more quickly to tighten than previously expected.
Wall Street has been concerned about inflation, with investors moving between economy-linked value stocks and growth names in the past few sessions.
Both growth and value stocks gained on Wednesday, while industrials and materials led S&P 500 sector gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.42 points, or 0.3%, to 34,681.79, the S&P 500 gained 14.59 points, or 0.34%, to 4,358.13 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.42 points, or 0.01%, to 14,665.06.
(Graphic: nasdaq, spx outperform, dow lags, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/oakvedjmbpr/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(14).png)
China's market regulator said it has fined a number of internet companies including Didi Global, Tencent and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) for failing to report earlier merger and acquisition deals for approval.
U.S.-listed shares of Didi fell 4.6%, adding to a nearly 20% slump on Tuesday.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.92-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
Get The News You Want
The S&P 500 posted 71 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 84 new highs and 121 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.04 billion shares, compared with the 10.7 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.