 "Wall Street indices rise as investors consider Fed minutes, payroll revision – Firstpost")
Wall Street indices rise as investors consider Fed minutes, payroll revision – Firstpost
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.52 points, or 0.14 percent, to 40,890.49, while the S&P 500 gained 23.73 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,620.85. The Nasdaq Composite gained 102.05 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 17,918.99.
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US stocks rose amid tight trading ranges on Wednesday (21 August) as investors digested a sharp downward revision in jobs data and the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which reinforced expectations of a rate cut in September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.52 points, or 0.14 percent, to 40,890.49, while the S&P 500 gained 23.73 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,620.85. The Nasdaq Composite gained 102.05 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 17,918.99.
Market drivers
Target shares rose 11.2 percent after the retailer raised its 2024 earnings forecast and reported its first quarterly increase in like-for-like sales in over a year.
Discount retailer TJX Cos saw its shares rise 6.1 percent after the company raised its annual profit forecast.
Conversely, Macy’s shares fell 12.9 percent after the department store chain revised down its forecast for annual net sales.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com fell 4.2 percent after Walmart, its largest shareholder, sold its stake in the company.
Ford Motor shares rose 1.6 percent after the automaker announced adjustments to its electric vehicle strategy.
Minutes of the Fed meeting
The Federal Reserve has published the minutes of its July monetary policy meeting, at which the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged.
The July meeting came ahead of the release of a disappointing employment report and a range of economic indicators that pointed to a slowdown in inflation and a slowing but still robust economy.
Despite these developments, the minutes show that Fed officials were already leaning toward a rate cut at the upcoming September meeting.
“The Fed’s minutes were dovish, and while dated, they suggest that the debate is not about whether the central bank will cut rates in September, but rather about how aggressive the first phase of this normalization cycle should be,” Oxford Economics said in a note.
The protocol also set the stage for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
With contributions from agencies
