S&P 500 rebounds, closes slightly higher after Fed Minutes

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rebounded from session lows on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index crossing into positive territory by the closing bell after the US Federal Reserve released meeting minutes saying that while the central bank plans to start raising interest rates and combating inflation It makes its decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis.

The minutes showed that while policy makers agreed that it would be appropriate “soon” to raise the Fed’s benchmark interest rate from near zero, they would reassess the timetable for rate hikes at each meeting. Read more

“The fact that the Fed hasn’t been more hawkish than previously thought seems to have rescued stocks for now, anyway,” said Lou Brin, strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. “The market was concerned that the aggressive political stance of (St Louis Fed President James) Bullard was more widespread but that does not appear to be the case.”

All three major US stock indexes spent most of the session deep in negative territory, as investors grappled with shifts in geopolitical tensions and a slew of data suggesting the US economy is overheating, bolstering the Fed’s stance on aggressive interest rate tightening.

But after the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes, indicators moved, eventually erasing losses. The Nasdaq and Dow indices closed slightly lower.

“It seems the Fed hasn’t shaken the situation much,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It didn’t throw that hard curve that we saw six weeks ago and that was a relief to a lot of investors.”

A slew of economic data on Tuesday showed a sharp rebound in retail sales, stronger-than-expected industrial output, and core import prices reaching all-time highs. Read more

“The retail sales figure today was very strong,” Dietrich added. “It confirms that the consumer is still healthy and this is a good sign for the economy going forward.”

The United States and NATO remain concerned about Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, refuting Russia’s claims on Tuesday that it is withdrawing its forces and questioning President Vladimir Putin’s stated willingness to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Read more

However, geopolitical tensions appear to have subsided somewhat.

“It may be a ‘no good news’ scenario,” Detrick said. “Global markets have calmed down as major risks continued to decline over the past two days.”

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 54.57 points, or 0.16%, to 34,934.27 points (.SPX) It rose 3.94 points, or 0.09%, to 4,475.01, and the Nasdaq Composite (nineteenth) It fell 15.66 points, or 0.11%, to 14,124.10 points.

Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors posted gains on the day, with energy stocks (.SPNY) Enjoy the highest profit rate. Technique (.SPLRCT) and communication services (.SPLRCL) It was the only percentage losing with Finance (.SPSY) Apartment a day.

ViacomCBS shares fell 17.8% after the media group missed quarterly earnings expectations. Read more

Short-term rental company Airbnb (ABNB.O) It advanced 3.6% after better-than-expected revenue expectations for the first quarter, driven by a strong rebound in travel demand. Read more

Devon Energy Company (DVN.N) Gained 4.7% after the oil producer reported fourth-quarter results above Wall Street estimates. Read more

Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) It rose 1.2% after being selected to develop a prototype for fifth-generation communications for the US Marines.

Cisco Systems, Inc (CSCO.O) It gained more than 5% in after-hours trading after the network equipment maker beat quarterly revenue forecasts.

Advance issues outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by 1.87 to 1; On the Nasdaq, the 1.07 to 1 ratio favored the highs.

The S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high and 7 new lows; The Nasdaq recorded 45 new highs and 103 new lows.

Volume on US stock exchanges reached 10.26 billion shares, compared to an average of 12.55 billion over the last 20 trading days.

Stephen Kolb reports. Additional reporting by Sinead Caro in New York, Susan Matthew and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Edited by Aurora Ellis

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