The US markets settled higher on Wednesday following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, which showed the central bank intends to remain flexible regarding future changes to interest rates. Citing a lack of clarity about when the risks to the US economy will be resolved, the Fed said the members plan to pay close attention to the implications of incoming data for the economic outlook. Besides, the strength on markets also reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from retail giants Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW). Shares of Target spiked by 20.4 percent after the retailer reported better than expected second quarter results and raised its full-year earnings guidance. Home improvement retailer Lowe's also surged up by 10.3 percent after reporting second quarter results that exceeded street estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The better than expected results from the retailers added to optimism that strength in consumer spending will continue to support the US economy despite early indicators of a looming recession.
On the economic front, existing home sales in the US showed a notable rebound in the month of July, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR said existing home sales jumped by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 5.42 million in July after slumping by 1.3 percent to a revised rate of 5.29 million in June. Street had expected existing home sales to surge up by 2.3 percent to a rate of 5.39 million from the 5.27 million originally reported for the previous month. The report said the median existing home price for all housing types in July was $280,800, down 1.6 percent from $285,300 in June but up 4.3 percent from $269,300 in the same month a year ago.
Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 240.29 points or 0.93 percent to 26202.73, Nasdaq gained 71.65 points or 0.90 percent to 8020.21 and S&P 500 was up by 23.92 points or 0.82 percent to 2924.43.
