US markets end mostly higher on Wednesday

14 Nov 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in Congressional testimony that the central bank is likely to leave interest rates unchanged in the near future. Powell told members of the Joint Economic Committee that the Fed would leave rates at their current level unless there is a material change in the economic outlook. However, upsides remained capped after a report said US-China trade talks have hit a snag over Chinese purchases of US agricultural products. President Trump earlier said China had agreed to buy up to $50 billion in US soybeans, pork and other agricultural products annually, but China is reluctant to put a numerical commitment in the text of a potential agreement.

On the economic front, partly reflecting a substantial rebound in energy prices, the Labor Department released a report showing US consumer prices rose by slightly more than anticipated in the month of October. The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in October after coming in unchanged in September. Street had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent. The bigger than expected increase in consumer prices came as energy prices spiked by 2.7 percent in October after tumbling by 1.4 percent in September. Gasoline prices led the way higher, surging up by 3.7 percent in October following the nosedive seen over the two previous months. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices edged up by 0.2 percent in October after a 0.1 percent uptick in September. The uptick in core prices matched street estimates.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 92.10 points or 0.33 percent to 27783.59 and S&P 500 was up by 2.20 points or 0.07 percent to 3094.04, while Nasdaq declined 3.99 points or 0.05 percent to 8482.10.

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