The S&P closed 0.45 per cent below its record high set earlier this month.
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“There is a rethink of Fischer’s two rate hikes”, said Mr Hogan, but “the Fed is certainly trying to get the market ready for a rate hike”. That could help banks by making lending more profitable.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average [ s: djia] closed up 107.59 points, or 0.6%, at 18,502.99, with Travelers Cos. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 8 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,177.
Winners topped losers by 13 to 5 on the NYSE, a better breadth than on the Nasdaq, where advancers had a 12-to-7 advantage. Banks are still one of the biggest laggards on the stock market over the past year.
The banking sector, which benefits from higher rates, enjoyed some of the best gains led by Wells Fargo (Hanover: NWT.HA – news), which added 2.2 percent.
STILL A BELIEVER: Herbalife added $2.36, or 3.9 percent, to $62.80 after Icahn said late Friday he had bought an additional 2.3 million shares in the supplements and weight-loss products company, and that he never gave an order to sell his $1 billion stake. A Wall Street Journal report earlier Friday said that the investment bank Jefferies had been looking for buyers for Icahn’s position.
Yellen, addressing a gathering of global central bankers on Friday, said the central bank was close to meeting its goals of maximum employment and stable prices, while describing consumer spending as “solid”. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 22,989.13, while the Shanghai Composite inched up almost 0.1 percent to 3,072.23.
In commodity markets, oil steadied after falling by around 1% on Monday.
USA government bond prices rose.
At the opening bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $46.86 a barrel, a 1.6 percent decline, while worldwide benchmark Brent crude had a 1.5 percent loss and hit $49.38.
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CURRENCIES: The dollar stood unchanged from late Monday at 102.21. The euro rose to $1.1187 from $1.1183.
