by Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday after the release of the minutes of the last Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting showing that its officials estimated that the US economy was very strong, as they seek to control inflation without causing a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.60%, or 191.66 points, to 32,120.28 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 37.25 points, or 0.95%, to 3,978.73 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 170.29 points (1.51%) to 11,434.74 points.
The “minutes” of the Fed’s meeting earlier this month, which decided to raise interest rates by half a point, indicate that the majority of US central bank officials judged that further rate hikes would be “likely appropriate” in June and July.
According to Ross Mayfield, strategist at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky, “uniformity of opinion is a good thing.” “There is no uncertainty about what needs to be done in the short term,” he commented.
“By September, (the Fed) will have a plethora of economic data to decide how to move forward, so they continue to hold options,” he added.
All three major Wall Street indexes had a choppy session, amid indicators, economic data and quarterly results suggesting a slowing U.S. economy, even as the Fed could strike a blow. additional brake to stem the surge in inflation.
Although price increases appear to have bottomed out in March, there are growing fears in the markets that the Fed’s very aggressive policy on inflation is pushing the US economy into recession.
The US Commerce Department will release a second reading of US economic growth data in the first quarter on Thursday. The first estimate gave an unexpected contraction of 1.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States over the period January-March.
Nine of the eleven major sectors of the S&P-500 finished in the green.
On the stock side, Tesla and Amazon recorded gains, 2.6% and 4.9% respectively, and contributed to the rise of the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq.
Nordstrom jumped 14% after raising its full-year revenue and profit forecast.
(French version Jean Terzian)
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