United States stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed voting members divided over whether to raise interest rates soon. In 2.50pm trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index inched 0.08 percent higher.
Advertisement
Networking company Cisco Systems fell 1.63% ahead of the opening bell, after saying late on Wednesday it will slash 5,500 jobs.
Shares of utilities, which tend to outperform in lower-rate environment, added to gains following the minutes.
US stocks are trading lower Wednesday as the market inches away from its recent record highs.
Weighing on sentiment were disappointing results from Target, down 6.1 percent as of 3.16pm in NY, as well as from Lowe’s, down 5.5 percent.
U.S. stocks reversed losses to finish slightly higher Wednesday after the minutes of the July Federal Reserve meetings showed divisions among policymakers about the pace and timing of future rate increases. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.89 to 18547, which was an improvement from earlier in the day. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were little changed as Morgan Stanley said investors are overestimating the chances of a rate hike this year.
Gold futures fell 0.9% Friday while silver slid 2.25%.
“When we did not receive the unambiguous hawkishness from the FOMC minutes, that kind of opened up the door to additional (dollar) selling”, said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in NY.
US stocks are opening slightly lower Wednesday with phone companies and utilities continuing to take the biggest losses.
Retailer L Brands reported same-store sales growth for July that topped analysts’ projections, adding it expects earnings for the second quarter to come in at the high-end of its outlook range.
Investors locked on one word from the Federal Reserve’s minutes released Wednesday: Soon. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei (Nihon Keizai Shinbun:.N225) closed 1.55 percent lower on Thursday, while in China the Shanghai Composite (Shanghai Stock Exchange:.SSEC) closed 0.17 percent lower.
Bond prices fall when yields rise. Oil slid 45 cents to $46.12 a barrel in NY.
Advertisement
– “With the U.S. dollar under pressure and the FOMC minutes released we may finally see gold break out of the $1,330 – $1,360 range for an attempt toward the early July high of $1,375”.
