Stocks fell from their highs Wednesday but remained in positive territory after Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed that the central bank will remain aggressive in raising rates to tame high inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 135 points, or 0.41%, but was lower than the highs of the day. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also recouped losses to trade up 1.02% and 1.03%, respectively.
The November Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, or JOLTS, came in slightly better than anticipated, signaling continued labor market strength amid the central bank’s rate hikes to tame inflation. The ISM manufacturing index, on the flip side, showed a contraction in the sector after 30 months of expansion, signaling that interest rate increases may be working to slow the economy.
That data, plus reports from Europe showing that inflation is cooling, lifted stocks. Still, it’s likely that gains will be muted as investors await more clarity on the state of the economy, including Fed meeting minutes due later Wednesday and the December jobs report Friday.
“This is very much wait and see mode,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial. “After wrapping up a year that was pretty terrible on all fronts, there’s always going to be trepidation by investors to put money to work and we’re seeing that in real time at least in the first two trading days.”
U.S. stocks started 2023 on a downbeat note Tuesday as rising rate concerns, high inflation and recessionary…
