US stocks edge back up after Fed releases minutes of January meeting

• Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.1%, to around 35,009

• The Fed’s document reiterated support for a swift interest rate hike  

U.S. stock benchmarks rose slightly on Wednesday, following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting, after recouping from the losses made earlier during the day due to the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The S&P 500 moved up 11 points, or 0.2%, to 4,481, flipping positive in afternoon trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.1%, to around 35,009, while the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 13 points, or 0.1%, to around 14,153.

Also Read: World Bank says private debts pose hidden risk to emerging economies, can spill over to public debt

Stocks were slipping before the release of the Fed’s minutes after concerns about Russia taking military action against Ukraine heightened. The document reiterated support for a swift interest rate hike and a significant reduction of the central bank’s near $9 trillion balance sheet.

US economic data

The Census Bureau reported on Wednesday that retail sales surged 3.8% in January. Economists expected the report to show sales rose 2.1% in January after a 1.9% decline in December. 

Data released by the Labour Department last week showed that the consumer price index rose 0.6 % in January after rising 0.5 % in December. The CPI increased by a 7.5 % annual rate in January. This was the largest year-on-year gain since February 1982, and it came on the heels of a 7 % increase in December.

The Census Bureau report shows that Omicron and inflation haven’t deterred the US consumer from spending.

Other assets

Meanwhile, safer bets like the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remained unchanged at 2.044%, after reaching a 52-week high on Tuesday, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March delivery surged 1.7% to settle at $93.66 a barrel, even as U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended February 11.

Also Read: Oil prices recover amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine tension

Meanwhile, Google announced its plans to adopt new privacy restrictions to restrain cross-app tracking on Android smartphones. Shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s  were up 0.9%.