US stocks rise as investors parse Fed minutes and await September inflation report

• Stocks inched higher Wednesday as investors read through the latest Fed minutes.
• Central bankers remained mostly hawkish on their approach to inflation at the last policy meeting.

US stocks rose on Wednesday as investors digested the latest minutes of September's Federal Reserve meeting and looked ahead for the September Consumer Price Index report, which is set to roll out Thursday morning.

Major indexes ended the day mostly flat, though the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished slightly in the green.

Central bankers signaled that they would continue to remain cautious on inflation at their last policy meeting, per the latest minutes. Though they acknowledged inflation expectations remain "well anchored," prices are still well-above the Fed's 2% target, having accelerated 3.7% in August.

Around two-thirds of Fed members predicted one more rate hike before the end of 2023, according to the Fed's dot plot of interest rate expectations.

Investors, though, have priced in a 91% chance the Fed will keep interest rates level at their next policy meeting, per the CME FedWatch tool.

When accounting for inflationary pressures stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, and the UAW strike, the Fed will likely raise rates just 0.25% in December before pausing for good, according to Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams.

"Either way, the Fed is likely to pivot to interest rate cuts in mid-2024 as core inflation, wage growth, housing prices, and other broad measures of price pressures move closer to pre-pandemic levels," Adams said in a note on Wednesday.

Investors are now looking ahead to the September inflation report, due at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. Economists are expecting inflation to have accelerated 3.6% last month, with core prices accelerating 4.1%.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,376.94, up 0.43%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,804.81, up 0.19% (+65.51 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,659.68, up 0.71%

Here's what else is going on today:

• Bonds are offering investors equity-like returns, according to billionaire Howard Marks.
• Stocks and bonds are in for a 'painful' journey ahead - and that makes cash more attractive, according to top economist Mohamed El-Erian.
• A key corner of Wall Street is making its most bearish bet against stocks ever.
• Janet Yellen says she supports using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
• China is boosting its efforts to spread the yuan as it dumps $7.5 billion in offshore bonds.
• The housing market is in a bubble, but home prices may not fall anytime soon.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.27% to $84.02 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 1.5% to $86.33 a barrel.
• Gold inched higher 0.64% to $1,887.30 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield slipped eight basis-points to 4.566%.
• Bitcoin slumped 2.63% to $26,693.