AP Photo/Richard Drew
US stocks closed mixed but mostly showed improvement as growth in consumer spending in the face of multi-year inflation appeared to help offset concerns at the Federal Reserve about sticky inflation.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq turned higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell. The consumer discretionary group on the S&P 500 pulled out a win despite the decline in the shares of both Gap andNordstrom.
The Commerce Department data showed that purchases of goods and services that were unadjusted for price changes rose in October. That rate was the fastest since March. The PCE hit 5%, the fastest rate since 1990, as the run-up in spending came even as inflation gauged by the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, or PCE, hit 5%.
The US indexes were at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting, more policy officials appeared uncertain about how long inflation would last, suggesting they could raise interest rates sooner if prices continue to climb. The rate hike is expected in mid-2022.
The price of gold slipped to $1,788 per ounce. The yield on the 10-year bond increased.
West Texas Intermediate crude was off by 3.0% at $78.38 per barrel.
It fell by 1% to $57,078.25.
Business Insider has an original article.
