US markets closed higher on Fed minutes

25 May 2017 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Wednesday, as minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed broad agreement on plans to begin shrinking the central bank’s balance sheet and also pointed to a likely rate increase next month, as widely expected. The minutes of the early May meeting showed that members were in agreement on a general approach to unwinding the massive balance sheet built up over the course of the asset-buying spree that was at the center of the Fed’s quantitative easing strategy. The minutes also showed most Fed officials agreed it would soon be time to raise rates again. Federal Reserve officials were in broad agreement at their May 2-3 meeting on a general approach to shrinking the bank’s massive balance sheet. Nearly all Fed officials said they were content with a plan to end the reinvestment of principal of maturing securities -- the main approach favored to shrink the balance sheet instead of asset sales -- in slow, ever-increasing stages, rather than ending the reinvestment all at once. In their discussion of interest-rate policy, most Fed officials said it would soon be time to raise rates again, a signal that the majority among the central bank’s policy makers remain resolute about hiking rates at their meeting next month. However, the discussion of the outlook showed widening divisions among Fed officials, with several seeing a possible need to start raising rates at a faster pace, while a few others thought a slower pace was more advisable.

On the economy front, sales of previously-owned homes sputtered in April after a supercharged first quarter, as lean inventory continued to constrain demand. Existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million. That was a 2.3% decline from March’s selling pace, which was revised down a tick but still stood at a 10-year high, though 1.6% higher compared to a year ago in April. There were decreases in every region except for the Midwest, where sales rose 3.8%. In the Northeast, sales slipped 2.7%, while in the South they were down 5.0%. The West saw a 3.3% decline. Inventory was 9% lower than a year ago in April. At the current sales pace, it would take 4.2 months to exhaust available supply. Properties were on the market for an average 29 days - from listing to contract - in April, the lowest since the Realtors began tracking in 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 74.51 points or 0.36 percent to 21,012.42, Nasdaq added 24.31 points or 0.40 percent to 6,163.02, while S&P 500 edged higher by 5.97 points or 0.25 percent to 2,404.39.

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