By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch Retailers
rise after upbeat earnings
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market rocked back and
forth in the wake of the latest minutes from the last month's
meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee before closing
marginally lower on Wednesday. After an initial positive jolt, the
market shrank back, as Fed minutes revealed scant little insights
about the U.S. central bank's policy plans.
There was no additional clarity about when interest rates would
be hiked, as is expected next year.
On Oct. 29, the Fed voted to end its asset purchase program, by
a 9-1 vote, and repeated that rates are likely to stay near zero
for "a considerable time," adding language that the first move to
raise rates could come sooner if the economy is stronger than
expected.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 3.1 points lower at 2,048.72,
ending its four-day winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) ticked down 2.1 points to
17,685.73.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) finished down 26.73 points, or 0.6%,
at 4,675.71.
Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial, said
that it is clear that the Fed is on the path of rate hikes.
"The Fed is not likely to rush with raising rates until it
begins seeing wage inflation pick up. To that end, they need more
data to make a final decision," Krosby said.
In economic news, construction started on new U.S. homes fell in
October, led down by volatile apartment construction. However,
construction starts for single-family homes rose to hit the highest
pace since November 2013. The headline number was slightly below
forecasts and market reaction ahead of the opening bell was
muted.
Retail names report: Lowe's (LOW) shares jumped 6.4% after the
home-improvement retailer lifted its sales outlook and beat
forecasts with its results.(LOW) Staples (SPLS) also surged 9%
after its earnings.Target (TGT) shares rallied 7.4% after earnings
release.
La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) added 6.2% after the furniture maker beat
Wall Street expectations late Tuesday. Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK)
shares rose 4.8% on a gain in sales.
TransCanada Corp. (TRP) shares rose 2.2% even as the Senate last
night narrowly rejected a bill to approve the construction of the
company's Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Bank of Japan, Bank of England weigh in: The dollar(USDJPY) hit
fresh seven-year highs against the yen, shooting past Yen117. The
Bank of Japan on Wednesday stuck to maintaining its large-scale
easing policy and its upbeat assessment of the economy despite
downbeat economic -growth figures that prompted Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe to delay a tax increase and call early elections. Read:
Potential crises make the dollar the place to be
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% in its first chance to react since Abe announced the plans.
In the U.K., meanwhile, minutes of the Bank of England's
rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee's November policy meeting
hinted at deepening divisions and concerns from some members that
the U.K. could overshoot its inflation target. The FTSE 100 index
pulled back initially, but rebounded to end slightly higher.
European stocks closed essentially flat.
Oil prices(CLZ4) were little changed, while gold (GCZ4) prices
fell 1.2% to about $1,182 an ounce on news that support for a
referendum requiring that the Swiss national bank hold at least a
fifth of its reserves it gold was losing steam.
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