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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images US stocks were mixed on Wednesday as the Fed minutes showed the central bank is willing to push ahead with further interest rate hikes.The Fed remains concerned that inflation is too high and needs to be tamed with more tightening.Some members of the Fed were supportive of 50-basis-point increases. Loading Something is loading.
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US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed that inflation remains a top concern for the central bank as it remains well above its long-term target of 2%.
The minutes indicated that the Fed is highly likely to continue with its tightening, and that some Fed members support 50-basis-point rate hikes rather than the 25-basis-point hike that was implemented earlier this month.
“The participants favoring a 50-basis-point increase noted that a larger increase would more quickly bring the target range close to the levels they believed would achieve a sufficiently restrictive stance, taking into account their views of the risks to achieving price stability in a timely way,” the minutes said.
Over the past week, Fed Presidents James Bullard and Loretta Mester advocated for a return to 50-basis-point rate hikes. Bullard said he wants to see the fed funds rate rise to just below 5.5%, compared to its current level of 4.6%.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:
S&P 500: 3,991.05, down 0.16%Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,045.09, down 0.26% (84.50 points)Nasdaq Composite: 11,507.07, up 0.13%Here’s what else happened today:
Home Depot warned that there will be a slump in renovations as consumers battle inflation, rising debt, and falling home prices.Intuitive Machines soared as much as 259% as investors revive their 2021 SPAC trading playbook. The stock has jumped more than 1,000% since it went public last week.Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s last tranche of options tied to his compensation package were vested last month, meaning he’s now technically working for free.S&P Global Ratings cut its long- and short-term credit ratings for Adidas after the German sportswear giant warned that the end of its partnership with Kanye West is likely to hammer earnings.One of the biggest bears on Wall Street offered his bullish perspective that could see the S&P 500 soar to record highs next year. In commodities, bonds and crypto:
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.22% to $73.90 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, dropped 3.01% to $80.55.Gold dropped 0.47% to $1,833.90 per ounce.The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell two basis points to 3.93%.Bitcoin fell 1.54% to $23,788, while ether dropped 1.70% to $1,616. Read next
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