Stocks Gain Ground on Wall Street Ahead of US Holiday
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting showed central bank officials agreed that smaller rate hikes would likely be appropriate “soon.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq composite closed 1 percent higher.
Long-term Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 3.69 percent from 3.76 percent.
At the Nov. 1–2 meeting, Fed officials expressed uncertainty about how long it might take for their rate hikes to slow the economy enough to tame inflation. At a news conference afterward, Chair Jerome Powell stressed that the Fed wasn’t even close to declaring victory in its fight to curb high inflation. Other Fed officials in the weeks since the meeting signaled that additional hikes would still be necessary….