US stocks rally but close off highs on signs of persistent Fed hawkishness and labor-market tightness
- US stocks rose Wednesday but closed off session highs as fresh signs pointed to more Fed hawkishness.
- Minutes from the Fed's December meeting indicated rates could stay higher for longer.
US stocks rose Wednesday but closed off session highs as fresh signs pointed to more hawkishness from the Federal Reserve.
Minutes from the Fed's December meeting indicated rates could stay higher for longer as policymakers "stressed that it would take substantially more evidence of progress to be confident that inflation was on a sustained downward path."
Fed officials also expressed concern that any market rally could obstruct their campaign to bring inflation back down to the 2% target.
Meanwhile, job openings data for November showed 10.46 million positions available, topping views for 10 million and signaling that the labor market remains tight.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:30 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 3,852.96, up 0.75%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,269.77, up 0.40% (133.40 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,458.76, up 0.69%
Here's what else is going on:
- Crypto firm Genesis is telling clients more time is needed to sort out its financial situation amid scrutiny.
- Lower crude oil exports hammered Russia's revenue from duties by $15 million at the end of 2022.
- Fairlead's Katie Stockton is predicting a "volatility event" will hit markets this year.
- A hedge fund manager who returned 163% in 2022 said stock-market pain is only beginning.
- US prosecutors formed a task force to recover billions of dollars of missing funds belonging to FTX customers.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices added to early losses, with West Texas Intermediate down 5.06% at $73.08 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 4.93% to $78.03 a barrel.
- Gold ticked up 0.67% to $1,852.05 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell 9.4 basis points to 3.70%.
- Bitcoin fell 0.57% to $16,840.56.