Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released somewhat dovish minutes from its September meeting ahead of key earnings from Financials.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 22,871.68. The S&P 500 closed 0.18% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6603.55.25, up 0.25%.
Ahead of a duo of earnings from major Wall Street banks due Thursday, financials were the main laggards of session threatening to weigh on the broader market.
Both JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) are slated to release earnings on Thursday before US markets open.
The Fed’s September minutes, however, lifted sentiment on US stocks after the minutes revealed that Fed members were split over the outlook of inflation, as some members called on the Fed to halt further rate increases until the trend of slowing inflation subsided.
“… many participants expressed concern that the low inflation readings this year might reflect not only transitory factors, but also the influence of developments that could prove more persistent,” the Fed said in the minutes.
Investor expectations for a December rate hike remained elevated, however, as the Fed minutes showed members agreed that a gradual approach to increasing rates will be warranted.
On the corporate earnings front, both BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom line.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) up 2.1%, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) up 1.9% and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) up 1.6%
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) down 1.2%, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) down 1.1% and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) down 1%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.