27 May, 2017
Federal Reserve policymakers agreed they should hold off on raising interest rates until it was clear a recent USA economic slowdown was temporary, though most said a hike was coming soon, minutes from their last policy meeting showed on Wednesday. Elsewhere hard drive maker Western Digital added $2.28, or 2.6 percent, to $90.31 and chipmaker Nvidia rose $1.78, or 1.3 percent, to $138.81.
TECH: Intuit, which makes software including TurboTax and QuickBooks, had a stronger quarter than investors expected and Wall Street was also pleased with its forecasts. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks picked up 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,383.
U.S. Treasury yields dipped after the minutes, weakening the dollar. Its stock gained $7.19, or 14.3 percent, to $57.61. Its stock gained $9.04, or 17.9 percent, to $59.46. The euro, which went as low as $1.1168 overnight, was 0.2 percent higher at $1.1240, making its way back towards the 6-1/2-month peak of $1.1268 touched on Tuesday.
European shares fell slightly.
Mainland Chinese shares, which were briefly unsettled by Moody's downgrade of its rating on China on Wednesday, bounced back 0.3 percent. The Bank of Korea, in its first decision since the nation elected a new president, left its key interest rate unchanged as household debt continues to rise and the economy shows signs of improvement.
GBP/USD dropped 0.54% to trade at 1.2871, the lowest since May 16, after a YouGov poll on Thursday showed that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party's lead ahead of the June 8 election was reduced to five points.
Sales for jewelry retailer Tiffany weren't as good as expected in the first quarter. Jeans maker Guess leaped $1.38, or 13.8 percent, to $11.36 after its announcement.
OIL: Crude oil prices slid for the second day in a row as the members of OPEC and other key oil-producing nations met in Vienna to discuss extending their production cut from a year ago. High-dividend stocks including utility companies and real estate investment trusts climbed as investors looked for yield. Oil prices have rallied over the last few weeks as investors expected the cut to be extended, which would shore up prices.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange continued to fall on Wednesday, as rising USA interest-rate hike expectations in the market pressured gold prices.
CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 111.88 yen from 111.76 yen. However its rating for the country is still relatively high, and there was little market reaction. The euro edged up to $1.1194 from $1.1185.
The FTSE 100 index in Britain was up 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX fell 0.2 percent.
The pound, which has booked solid gains against the USA dollar since the announcement of a snap national election by Prime Minister Theresa May on April 18, was little changed overnight even as the greenback faded in the wake of the Fed's dovish reading of the US economy as was last seen trading at 1.2983. The underlying gauge rose 0.3 percent Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo climbed 0.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.8 percent.
