The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,049.
Advertisement
EUROPE’S DAY: Germany’s DAX and France’s CAX 40 each rose 0.5 percent.
“The suggestion there could be two-three rate rises this year from Fed officials have markets anxious”.
Some investors expect it to raise rates again in June as the economy continues to improve gradually and inflation picks up.
The U.S. dollar rose against the Taiwan dollar Wednesday, gaining NT$0.075 to close at the day’s high of NT$32.705 amid renewed fears that the Federal Reserve will raise its key interest rates sooner rather than later, dealers said.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told reporters in Texas that he will advocate for an interest-rate hike at the Fed’s upcoming policy meetings.
This week, San Francisco Fed president John Williams and Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart said the June meeting will be “live”, meaning a rate hike is at least possible.
Banks are rising much more than the rest of the market Wednesday as traders hope that interest rates will move higher, which would make it more profitable for banks to make loans. Investors appeared disappointed, however, by a lack of fresh market-boosting initiatives from Beijing during a visit by a top Communist Party official to Hong Kong. The government reported Tuesday that the consumer price index jumped 0.4 percent in April, reflecting higher energy costs. The Nasdaq composite climbed 23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,739. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, rose 19 cents to $49.47 a barrel in London.
Japan’s economy expanded by an annualized 1.7 percent in January-March, easily beating the median market forecast for a 0.2 percent increase and rebounding from a 1.7 percent contraction in the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office data showed.
ENERGY: U.S. crude oil rose 31 cents to $48.62 a barrel in NY, adding to a string of gains.
US sovereign bond prices were lower on Wednesday morning after a number of U.S.
Both Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank gained 2.3 percent in Frankfurt, while BNP Paribas rose 1.5 percent and Societe Generale added 1.4 percent in Paris. The greenback, however, drifted off the high as USA equities flagged and nudged down Treasury bond yields.The euro slipped 0.3 percent against the yen to 123.11.Against the dollar, the euro was slightly lower at $1.1309 after closing little changed against the dollar overnight.The pound slipped 0.2 percent to $1.4451.
Advertisement
The dollar also pushed higher, with the euro at $1.1226, compared with $1.1284 shortly before the minutes were published.
