File photo of a trader in the trading room of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
by Sinéad Carew and Amruta Khandekar
(Archyde.com) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday following a choppy session following the release of “minutes” of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) December meeting indicating that the US central bank officials have agreed to slow the pace of rate hikes but remain focused on fighting inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.40%, or 133.40 points, to 33,269.77 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 28.83 points, or 0.75%, to 3,852.97 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 71.78 points (0.69%) to 10,458.76 points.
According to the minutes of the Fed’s December monetary policy meeting, released the same day, all US central bank officials agreed that the central bank should continue to raise borrowing costs in order to curb inflation, but gradually, in order to limit the risks to economic growth.
Investors have studied the Fed’s “minutes” for clues regarding the US central bank’s plans this year.
When speaking to the press following the December meeting, Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell indicated that further rate hikes would be needed and adopted a more conservative tone than anticipated by Investors.
“It’s a broken record. Every time the Fed suggests higher rates or confirms higher rates, the market sells,” said Jack Dollarhide, managing director of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“The market wants to go higher but it needs good news at some point,” he said. “Investors react to the past and ignore the present.
Among the major sectors of the S&P-500, technologies fell in the wake of the publication of the “minutes” of the Fed, before rebounding and ending at +0.26%.
The banking sector, traditionally a beneficiary of rate hikes, ended up 1.90% following marking a slight decline earlier in the session.
Data released during the day on the state of the US labor market fuel the hypothesis that the Federal Reserve will extend its monetary tightening policy.
(French version Jean Terzian)
