The S&P 500 hit a record on Wednesday, the 18th of the year, but trading was weak, as minutes from the last Federal Reserve political meeting came to reaffirm its commitment to a higher rate regime. small, as the labor market affected by COVID recovers. S&P 500 SPX Index,
closed 0.2% at about 4,079 on a preliminary basis. Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
finished less than 0.1% at about 33,446, to mark the third gain in four sessions, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,
bordered by less than 0.1% lower, to about 13,669. “While I generally recognize that the medium-term outlook for real GDP growth and employment has improved, participants continued to see the uncertainty surrounding these prospects as high,” the meeting read in minutes. Fed March 16-17. The central bank said that “its current guidelines on the federal funds rate and asset purchases serve the economy well.” Fed forecasts indicate that policymakers will not seek to normalize rates until 2023 at the earliest, but market segments have pushed back against the notion, amid fears that inflation will rise as the economy improves.