Stocks Move Higher After Fed Statement
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it was holding short-term rates steady.
The market widely expected the Fed to leave the benchmark federal-funds rate unchanged. In its statement, the central bank also offered a more upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy, saying “near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished.”
That language could mean a rate rise as early as September is still a possibility.
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Ahead of the statement, markets were pricing around a 50% chance that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates in 2016.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20 points, or 0.1%, in recent trading, compared with a fraction lower before the statement, and the S&P 500 pared losses and was down 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%, lifted by tech shares and gains in Apple specifically.
The tech giant, which was up 6.8% in recent trading, gave expectations for the current quarter that exceeded analyst expectations late Tuesday. Apple added about 45 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
The S&P 500 was dragged down by consumer companies and energy shares. U.S.-traded crude oil prices fell 2.6% to $41.82 a barrel.
Coca-Cola on Wednesday said revenue slid more than expected in the latest quarter on flat soda volume amid continued weakness abroad. Its shares fell 2.8%. Facebook reports after markets close.
Twitter shares tumbled 12% after the social-media company’s results showed it still suffers from shrinking revenue growth and user growth.
Apple reported Tuesday that profit fell 27% in the latest quarter as the company grappled with the first prolonged slump in iPhone sales since the product was introduced in 2007. Photo: AP
Boeing swung to a loss in the latest quarter but it wasn’t as bad as analysts feared, and shares rose 1.9%.
“While earnings remain pretty unimpressive, it looks as if the worst is behind us,” said John Brady, managing director at futures brokerage R.J. O’Brien.
With just over 200 companies in the S&P 500 reporting, earnings in the index are on track to drop 4% in the second quarter from the prior year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of contracting earnings, according to FactSet. That is a smaller decline than the 5.3% drop analysts had expected as of June 30 and marks a stronger result than the first quarter, FactSet data show.
The Federal Reserve Building in Washington.Photo: Reuters
The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.4%.
Despite the positive momentum, Deutsche Bank AG shares lost 2.9% after the German lender reported its second-quarter net income fell 98% from a year earlier.
The first estimate of second-quarter U.K. gross domestic product was also released Wednesday morning, showing the British economy grew by 0.5% between April and June. Though the period includes the June 23 European Union referendum, only a week of the quarter came after the result was known.
Despite the positive data, sterling dropped 0.3 % against the dollar.
“Brexit is a slow burning issue now, only over the next couple of months will the impact on companies become more clear,” said Patrick Moonen, strategist at NN Investment Partners.
S&P 500 Leaders and Laggards - 1 Day
In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 1.7% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Japanese government may issue 50-year bonds for the first time to take advantage from ultralow yields on Japanese sovereign debt.
The Japanese yen declined 0.8% against the dollar. The Bank of Japan will announce its latest monetary policy decisions on Friday.
“We think the BOJ will cut rates, but it’s not really going to make much of a difference. The market is pricing in a cut,” said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets. “The focus is really on the fiscal side now.”
Markets are still awaiting details of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ’s plans to boost government spending.
Corrections & Amplifications:
The first estimate of second-quarter U.K. gross domestic product was released Wednesday morning. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was Thursday. (July 27, 2016)
Write to Mike Bird at
Mike.Bird@wsj.com and Corrie Driebusch at
corrie.driebusch@wsj.com