NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After two turbulent trading days, some confidence has spread again on the US stock market. The most important indices closed on Wednesday, some quite clearly in the black. At least the minutes of the US Federal Reserve Bank’s most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee did not give rise to expectations that the Fed would take a tougher stance than expected in order to combat high inflation. On the contrary, stockbrokers saw indications that the central bank could take a slightly less strict course after an initial phase of larger rate hikes towards the end of the year.
The leading index Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) went 0.60 percent higher at 32 120.28 points from trading. The market-wide S&P 500 went up 0.95 percent to 3978.73 points. The tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 rose 1.48 percent to 11,943.93 points.
As expected, the Fed initially held out the prospect of further major rate hikes in its minutes. However, the speedy reduction in monetary policy support for the economy should allow the central bank to increase its monetary policy to reevaluate. Paul Ashworth, chief economist for the US at the analysis house Capital Economics, interpreted this as a statement that speaks for a rather less strict monetary policy after this phase of larger interest rate hikes. The statement is reminiscent of Federal Reserve Banker Raphael Bostic’s recent comment that a pause in interest rate hikes in September “could make sense”./la/he
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