US stocks rose on Wednesday, as investors looked to the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes for clues on the pace of interest rate hikes ahead.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 109 points, or 0.31%, while the Standard & Poor’s index rose by 0.56%, and the Nasdaq index increased by 1.02%.
Nordstrom shares fell more than 7% following the supermarket chain reaffirmed its forecast, despite the company beating profit and sales forecasts in its latest results.
In addition, the jobless claims data came in higher than expected at 240K for the week ending November 19 as the economist expected 225K, indicating that the labor market may be weakening. Meanwhile, October Durable Goods Orders were stronger than expected, coming in at 1% more than the expected 0.5%.
Investors shrugged off fears of more lockdowns in China following the country reported its first death from Covid since May. Instead, traders focused on some solid earnings reports, and bet on the possibility of monetary policy easing from the Federal Reserve in the future.
Markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and close early on Friday.
(agencies)
