Investing.com – Wall Street traded higher on Wednesday as better-than-expected auto sales supported gains, while investors awaited the publication of the last monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed).
At 11:27AM ET (16:27GMT), the Dow Jones gained 31 points, or 0.16%, the S&P 500 advanced 8 points, or 0.34%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded up 33 points, or 0.61%.
In company news, eyes were on the automakers as Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) reported better-than-expected auto sales in the U.S. during the month of December. Shares in both stocks were rising close to 5%.
Wednesday will also see the economic release of total December auto sales. A Thomson Reuters’ poll predicted that annual sales in 2016 could hit a fresh record high.
Also still ahead, the Fed will release minutes of its December policy meeting at 2:00PM ET (19:00GMT), at which the U.S. central bank hiked interest rates and signaled it expects to raise interest rates three times in 2017.
U.S. stocks have rallied sharply since Donald Trump was elected president, in what many analysts refer to as the “Trump rally”, on the back of hopes that the incoming president will implement fiscal policies that will spur growth and be positive for stocks.
Expectations for the amount of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) this year also increased post-election, with the U.S. central bank’s own forecast rising to three increases in 2017, from the prior two.
However, Fed chair Janet Yellen said at the December 14 post-decision press conference that the increase in the forecast for the number of rate hikes in 2017 was a “very modest adjustment in the path of the Fed funds rate” though she admitted that expectations for what policies Trump could enact may have had somewhat of a bearing on the outlook.
“Some of the participants, but not all of the participants, did incorporate some change in fiscal policy into their projections, and that may have been a factor,” she said.
Hence, investors will likely peruse the minutes looking for any additional details on the impact Trump’s election had on the Fed’s policy projections.
Meanwhile, {{news- 451065||oil prices rebounded on Wednesday}} from sharp losses of 3% produced on the back of a Genscape report the previous day that Cushing crude inventories, the key entry point for Nymex crude, had produced a build of more one million barrels.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (21:30GMT) later on Wednesday, while official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of 1.715 million barrels.
This week's reports come out one day later than usual due to Monday's New Year holiday.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.86% to $52.78 by 11:30AM ET (16:30GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.97% to $56.01.