US close: Stocks higher after Fed minutes, wholesale price surprise

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street finished with gains on Wednesday as traders navigated through the latest Federal Reserve minutes and a surprise on the latest wholesale price data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a modest uptick of 0.19% to 33,804.87, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite saw more substantial gains, closing up by 0.43% and 0.71% at 4,376.95 and 13,659.68 respectively.

In currency markets, the dollar was stable against sterling to last change at 81.21p, while it advanced 0.06% on the euro to 94.22 euro cents and recorded a slight 0.02% dip against the yen to change hands at JPY 149.14.

"While wholesale inflation hit a six-month high, this has not deterred US markets from making more, if limited, gains this afternoon," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp earlier.

"Even a rise in the pace of core PPI did not unduly worry investors, with US indices continuing to rally as they focus on tomorrow's CPI data and the start of earnings season.

"Stocks have staged an impressive recovery this week, aligning well with the usual start of stronger year-end seasonality, but this week's key data could provide at least a short-term bump in the road."

Fed treads with caution amid economic uncertainties and rising wholesale prices

In economic news, the most recent Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials displaying a cautious stance, opting for a meeting-by-meeting scrutiny of interest rate policy.

Most participants grappled with volatile economic data and the opaque repercussions of the Fed's previous interest rate augmentations.

While some data hinted at a deceleration of inflation, most Fed officials remained wary of potential surges, with factors like global oil markets and possible unexpected hikes in food prices emerging as noteworthy considerations.

"A vast majority of participants continued to judge the future path of the economy as highly uncertain," the minutes read.

Elsewhere, September saw an unanticipated elevation in wholesale prices in the US, edging upwards by 0.5% on a month-to-month basis, according to the Labor Department, surpassing the consensus prediction of 0.3%.

The rise was primarily driven by a notable 3.3% ascent in energy prices and a 0.9% uptick in the cost of food.

Moreover, the trade services sector, including retail margins, saw prices climb 0.5% over the same monthly period, and on an annual basis, total final demand price elevations accelerated from 2.0% in August to 2.2%.

Tempest Therapeutics skyrockets amid mixed market performance

In equity markets, ExxonMobil dropped 3.59% after announcing its $64.5bn acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, making for the most significant corporate purchase of the year.

The healthcare sector also encountered challenges, particularly for DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, which tumbled 16.86% and 17.57%, respectively.

The drop was triggered by the successful trial of Novo Nordisk's kidney failure drug, which would threaten the kidney dialysis service market.

On the upside, Tempest Therapeutics went stratospheric to close 2,879.17% higher.

The monumental surge was propelled by promising results from its investigational treatment against liver cancer.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.60 4.55% Boeing Co. (BA) $196.15 1.31% Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.88 1.24% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $332.42 1.23% Nike Inc. (NKE) $98.68 1.06% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.60 0.98% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $179.80 0.79% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $143.30 0.79% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $158.20 0.40% American Express Co. (AXP) $151.51 0.38%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $161.10 -3.27% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $156.18 -1.38% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $143.00 -1.23% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $31.47 -0.94% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.90 -0.82% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $53.71 -0.59% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $313.25 -0.56% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $298.11 -0.39% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.66 -0.39% Visa Inc. (V) $235.61 -0.39%

S&P 500 - Risers

Gap Inc. (GPS) $11.53 5.39% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.60 4.55% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $605.28 4.48% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $69.56 4.48% American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $165.79 4.45% NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) $53.54 3.80% Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $56.99 3.62% NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $41.27 3.54% Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $201.60 3.38% Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $124.48 3.30%

S&P 500 - Fallers

DaVita Inc (DVA) $75.90 -16.86% Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $32.74 -12.27% Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $6.05 -6.93% Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH) $105.40 -6.10% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $15.66 -5.72% Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $281.79 -5.39% Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $50.91 -5.37% Stryker Corp. (SYK) $260.05 -5.24% Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $92.68 -5.04% Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $91.84 -4.70%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.60 4.55% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $69.56 4.48% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $549.91 3.23% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.59 2.68% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $46.39 2.29% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $108.78 2.22% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $468.06 2.20% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $103.61 2.09% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $874.56 1.88% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $327.82 1.86%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $281.79 -5.39% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.50 -3.96% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $277.52 -3.14% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $58.24 -2.22% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $365.93 -1.98% Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $69.41 -1.92% DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $31.80 -1.85% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $49.60 -1.59% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.07 -1.55% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $91.95 -1.32%