(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) Markets Warm Fed Word About Controlling Inflation
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U.S. stocks moved slightly higher on Wednesday as investors pored over the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials pushed out gains of 69.86 points to 31,037.68.
The S&P 500 poked up 13.69 points to 3,845.08.
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 39.61 points to 11,361.85.
Defensive plays and well-established tech stocks were some of the best performers on Wednesday. Shares of Northrop Grumman jumped more than 4%, while UnitedHealth Group added more than 2%. Apple picked up 1.3%, and Cisco Systems 2.2%.
Energy stocks were some of the worst performers, as oil prices continued their recent slide. Shares of Chevron and Diamondback Energy each fell about 3%.
Stocks moved higher after the Fed released the minutes from its June meeting, showing that the central bank was committed to bringing down inflation. Fed members said the July meeting likely also would see another 50- or 75-basis point move, the minutes showed. A basis point is one one-hundredth of one percentage point.
The Institute for Supply Management services PMI data came in better than expected, but did show a slight slowdown in growth. Job openings also came in higher than expected, at more than 11 million.
Treasury prices dropped, bringing yields up to 2.92% from Tuesday's 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.12 to $98.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $25.60 to $1,738.30 U.S. an ounce.
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