Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

S&P 500, Nasdaq end up as Fed in no rush to raise rates

Published 07/30/2014, 05:25 PM
Updated 07/30/2014, 05:25 PM
S&P 500, Nasdaq end up as Fed in no rush to raise rates

S&P 500, Nasdaq end up as Fed in no rush to raise rates

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave a rosier assessment of the U.S. economy while reaffirming that it is in no hurry to raise interest rates.

The U.S. central bank also, as expected, reduced its monthly asset purchases to $25 billion from $35 billion.

Among the biggest positives were bank shares, with the S&P financial index <.SPSY> up 0.4 percent, helping to support the S&P 500. Shares of Wells Fargo (N:WFC) gained 1.1 percent to $52.10.

"We got the taper as expected, and the real viewpoint of the committee is they can keep monetary policy accommodative even after we reach our inflation and employment goals," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

Biotechnology stocks boosted the Nasdaq for a second straight day. The Nasdaq biotech index <.NBI> was up 1 percent after Amgen Inc (O:AMGN) posted better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook, sending its shares up 5.4 percent to $130.01.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 31.75 points, or 0.19 percent, to 16,880.36, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 0.12 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,970.07, and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 20.20 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,462.90.

The S&P 500 had traded lower ahead of the Fed announcement.

Earlier Wednesday, government data showed gross domestic product grew at a 4 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, above the 3 percent rate that had been expected and a sharp reversal from the weather-impacted first quarter, when the economy contracted a revised 2.1 percent.

Separately, the ADP National Employment Report showed companies hired 218,000 workers in July, below analysts' projections of 230,000 and less than June's total.

Among other big gainers, Twitter Inc (N:TWTR) surged 20 percent to $46.30, its biggest ever one-day advance, after reporting that monthly active users rose a better-than-expected 24 percent in the second quarter.

Insurance stocks fell after Humana Inc (N:HUM), WellPoint Inc (N:WLP) and Aflac Inc (N:AFL) all reported lower earnings, though WellPoint's profit was above expectations.

Humana fell 5.6 percent to $120.34, WellPoint lost 0.1 percent to $112.47, and Aflac slid 2.8 percent to $61.38. UnitedHealth (N:UNH) lost 1.6 percent to $82.95 and was the biggest drag on the Dow.

After the bell, shares of Whole Foods Markets Inc (O:WFM) fell 5.4 percent to $36.99 after the company cut its 2014 forecasts for a fourth time. Akamai Technologies (O:AKAM) declined 5.9 percent to $57.17 following its results.

© Reuters. The Twitter symbol is displayed at the post where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, above the 5.6 billion average for the month to date, according to data from BATS Global Markets.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.