U.S. stocks rally for a second day - CPI at bat
Main U.S. stock indexes end higher; Dow out front, up ~1%
Healthcare lead S&P 500 sector gainers; Utilities weakest group
Dollar up; gold, crude decline; bitcoin falls >2%
U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield rises to ~4.07%
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U.S. STOCKS RALLY FOR A SECOND DAY - CPI AT BAT
Wall Street logged a second straight day of solid gains on Wednesday as investors shrugged off the minutes from the Fed's September monetary policy meeting, at which they implemented the first interest rate cut in years.
All three major stock indexes closed sharply higher, with the blue-chip Dow .DJI out front.
Healthcare .SPXHC, tech .SPLRCT, banks .SPXBK, chips .SOX were among outperformers.
Utilities .SPLRCU finished in the red, where it was joined by communication services .SPLRCL after the Justice Department mulled the notion of forcing Google parent Alphabet GOOGL.O to divest parts of its business to address its search engine dominance.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting, which were released two hours before the closing bell, and they showed a "substantial majority" of policymakers were in favor of the 50 basis point interest rate cut, a cut which seemed like a great idea until a spate of solid economic lowered expectations for additional rate cuts by the end of the year.
At last glance, financial markets are pricing in a 78.8% likelihood that the central bank will implement a smaller 25 bp rate cut at their November meeting, with a growing 21.2% chance they'll let it stand at 4.75%-5.00%, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Speaking of data, the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) report is expected early Thursday, which should give markets some clarity regarding inflation's long and meandering path down to the Fed's 2% annual target.
Analysts expect headline CPI readings to cool slightly to 0.1% and 2.3% on monthly and annual bases, respectively.
Core CPI - which strips away volatile food and energy prices - is seen cooling by 10 basis points to 0.2% month-over-month, but staying firm at 3.2% year-over-year.
Beyond Thursday, the producer price index (PPI) is due on Friday, as are quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase JPM.N and Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N, marking the unofficial beginning of third quarter reporting season.
Here's your closing snapshot:
(Stephen Culp)
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FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
TECH STOCK VOLATILITY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN AI EXPOSURE, UBS SAYS - CLICK HERE
STOCKS HAVE RISEN BUT WHO SAYS THEY'RE DONE - CLICK HERE
UH-OH - AS THE MARKET STEAMS ALONG, IS THAT AN ICEBERG AHEAD? - CLICK HERE
TOO HOT TO HANDLE: RISING MORTGAGE RATES PROMPT REFI DEMAND PLUNGE - CLICK HERE
U.S. STOCKS TICK UP AHEAD OF THE MINUTES - CLICK HERE
S&P 500 INDEX JUST SHY OF ITS RECORD HIGHS - CLICK HERE
BULLISH FACTORS BEHIND GOLD RALLY TO CONTINUE - UBS - CLICK HERE
U.S. ELECTION RISK RIPPLES THROUGH MEXICAN PESO OPTIONS - CLICK HERE
NO NEED TO PANIC AS TURBULENT EARNINGS SEASON LOOMS - CLICK HERE
STOXX INCHES UP, OFF 2-WEEK LOWS - CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN FUTURES POINT TO MUTED START - CLICK HERE
CHINA STOCKS GET A REALITY CHECK; EUROPE SHUDDERS - CLICK HERE
Closing snapshot https://reut.rs/4dEpGv2
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