Update: Equities Snap 3-Day Losing Streak as Traders Parse July Fed Minutes
(Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.)Wall Street's main stock indexes rebounded Wednesday after a three-day slump, boosted by gains in the healthcare sector, while investors assessed the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2% each to 7,707.98 and 53,463.05, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.2%, closing at 26,331.09. Among sectors, healthcare topped the gainers, while industrials led the laggards.Moderna (MRNA) shares surged 177%, the biggest gain on the S&P 500, as a late-stage trial for a skin cancer treatment being developed in partnership with Merck (MRK) yielded positive topline results. Merck jumped nearly 13%, the best performer on the Dow and among the top gainers on the S&P 500.Fed officials acknowledged the need for an interest rate hike if inflation does not ease, minutes from the central bank's July meeting showed Wednesday. At the meeting last month, policymakers left interest rates unchanged in a divided decision, with three regional presidents calling for a hike of 25 basis points."The minutes suggest that other (non-voting) participants are on the same page. And that there is a palpable hawkish sentiment brewing in the committee," BMO said in a note. "But it will take inflation misbehaving to stir this sentiment further. Until then, the Fed will be holding indefinitely."Markets are currently pricing in a 67% probability that the Fed will keep its benchmark rate steady in September, with the remaining odds in favor of a 25-basis-point hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool.Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year yield down 6.5 basis points at 4.64% and the two-year yield falling 0.8 basis point to 4.17%.The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it will boost the size of its government debt repurchases, in what Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons described as a "surprise" move.The expanded buyback operation, which will focus on 10- to 30-year Treasuries, comes as the 30-year real yields recently broke through 3% for the first time in 24 years, Simons said."It looks like this move will probably help to keep a lid on long-end yields for the near-term," he said.West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.9% to $85.66 a barrel in Wednesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 0.4% to $91.39.The United Arab Emirates suspended economic ties with Iran amid "regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security," UAE Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Afra Al Hameli said on X. The UAE is Iran's second-largest commercial partner, according to a CNN report."Oil prices extended gains for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday as uncertainty over a resolution to the US-Iran conflict continued to support risk premiums," ING Bank said.In other corporate news, Keysight Technologies (KEYS) slumped 6.3%, among the notable laggards on the S&P 500. Late Tuesday, the electronics test and measurement equipment manufacturer provided a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings outlook above Wall Street's estimates and reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.Target (TGT) lifted its full-year outlook as tariff refunds helped double the retailer's fiscal second-quarter earnings year over year. Its shares jumped 4.3%.TJX (TJX) issued a fiscal third-quarter comparable store sales forecast that fell short of the Street expectations, but raised its full-year earnings outlook. The stock fell 4.2%.Spot gold jumped 4.1% to $4,510.40 per troy ounce, while silver climbed 3.8% to $66.48 per ounce.
