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US Market ends firmer after Fed minutes

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Capital Market
Last Updated : Jul 08 2021 | 10:31 AM IST
The US stocks were slightly higher on Wednesday, 07 July 2021, with major averages all closed in positive territory, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting signaled the central bank will not be in a hurry to begin scaling back its asset purchase program.

The minutes of the June meeting reiterated Fed Chair Jerome Powell's view that "substantial further progress" towards the goals of maximum employment and price stability has not yet been met.The Fed has repeatedly said it plans to continue to its asset purchases at a rate of at least $120 billion per month until "substantial further progress" has been made toward its goals.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was up 104.42 points, or 0.3%, to 34,682. The S&P 500 index added 14.59 points, or 0.34%, at 4,358. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.42 points, or 0.00%, to 14,665.

Total 8 out of 11 sectors advanced along with S&P 500, with material (up 1.02%) sector was best performer, followed by industrials (up 1%), healthcare (up 0.62%), utilities (up 0.58%), consumer staples (up 0.56%), realty (p 0.52%), and information technology (up 0.49%) sectors. Energy (down 1.7%) sector was worst performer, as the price of crude oil once again turned lower over the course of the session. Crude for August delivery tumbled $1.17 to $72.20 a barrel.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Central Bank Will Not Be In A Hurry To Begin Scaling Back Its Asset Purchase Program, Fed Minutes Suggest-- The minutes of the June meeting reiterated Fed Chair Jerome Powell's view that "substantial further progress" has not yet been met, although participants expected progress to continue. With officials still seeing risks to the economic outlook, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting suggest the central bank will not be in a hurry to begin scaling back its asset purchase program. The Fed has repeatedly said it plans to continue to its asset purchases at a rate of at least $120 billion per month until "substantial further progress" has been made toward its goals of maximum employment and price stability.

While various participants expect conditions for beginning to reduce the pace of asset purchases to be met somewhat earlier than they had previously anticipated, others saw incoming data as providing a less clear signal about the underlying economic momentum. The minutes said some participants determined the Fed would be able to make a better assessment in the coming months and emphasized the central bank should be "patient in assessing progress toward its goals and in announcing changes to its plans for asset purchases."

The Fed said participants also agreed to continue assessing the economy's progress toward the central banks goals at coming meetings and to begin to discuss their plans for adjusting the path and composition of asset purchases.

The minutes also noted the near-term outlook for inflation was revised up markedly, but the staff continued to expect the rise in inflation this year to be transitory. Meanwhile, projections provided following the conclusion of the two-day meeting pointed to an increase in interest rates in 2023. The latest projections from Fed officials suggest interest rates will be increased to 0.6 percent in 2023 compared to previous projections indicating rates would remain at near-zero levels.

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Among Indian ADR, Tata Motors added 0.9% to $20.51, and Dr Reddys Labs was up 0.75% to $74.91, INFOSYS added 0.33% to $21.18, ICICI Bank added 1.68% to $17.60, and Vedanta added 1.82% to $14.58, while HDFC Bank fell 0.3% to $74.22 and WNS Holdings fell 0.8% to $82.12. Wipro was flat at $7.67,

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First Published: Jul 08 2021 | 9:18 AM IST

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