U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting showed voting members divided over whether to raise interest rates soon.
While policymakers agree that more economic data is needed before raising rates, some expect a hike will be needed soon, according to the minutes from the U.S. central bank's July 26-27 policy meeting.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 21.92 points, or 0.12 percent, to 18,573.94, the S&P 500 had gained 4.07 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,182.22 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.55 points, or 0.03 percent, to 5,228.66.
Asian stocks outside Japan rose after Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials were divided over the urgency to raise interest rates. Shares in Tokyo slipped as the yen strengthened past 100 per dollar.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index rose 0.2 percent as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan’s Topix index slipped 0.9percent as the yen traded at 99.79 against the dollar. Minutes of the Fed’s last meeting indicated officials saw little risk of a sharp uptick in inflation, fueling bets interest rates will stay lower for longer and quelling speculation that borrowing costs could rise as soon as next month.
“The message from the Fed is that they’re going to be cautious in raising rates,” Shane Oliver, Sydney-based global investment strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which manages more than $110 billion, said by phone. “That’s supportive of the share markets.”
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg
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