Stocks surge after pivot signals by FOMC minutes

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve showed that the Fed is looking to hand out smaller rate hikes in the coming months as inflation eases.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95 points, or 0.28%. The S&P 500 gained 0.51% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.95%.

Minutes from the Fed’s November meeting signaled that the Fed is seeing progress in its fight against high inflation and is looking to slow the pace of rate hikes, meaning smaller ones through the end of this year and into 2023.

“A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” the minutes stated. “The uncertain lags and magnitudes associated with the effects of monetary policy actions on economic activity and inflation were among the reasons cited regarding why such an assessment was important.”

Earlier in November, the central bank approved a fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point hike that brought rates to their highest level since 2008. Economists largely expect a 0.5 percentage point increase in December.

What it really shows is you’ve got a market that’s jittery about one thing and one thing only, and that’s the Federal Reserve and what their thoughts are on monetary policy. Any news that could shift the narrative around rate hikes going forward is important to markets, which are also seeing thin trading volume due to the holiday-shortened week.