Close Update: Wall Street Pushes Higher After Fed Minutes as Trade, Jobs Report Eyed
Wall Street headed higher on Thursday, holding onto gains after the release of the Federal Reserve minutes painted a picture of a robust US economy, even as worries about trade linger for policymakers and investors who are awaiting Friday’s jobs report.
Tech stocks led the way as the Nasdaq Composite outperformed the other benchmarks, with the S&P’s information technology group up 1.5%. Consumer stocks had a strong day, with discretionary rising 1.5% and staples gaining 0.5%, while energy was flat after a downbeat session for crude futures.
While the Fed signaled more interest-rate increases to come and some risks on the horizon, the tone of the minutes from the June meeting was one of continuing progress toward inflation targets and strength in the US job market.