Investing.com - US stocks continued to boast strong gains on Wednesday after a slew of macro data and while investors waited for the publication of the Fed meeting minutes later in the session.
The blue-chip Dow futures climbed 213 points, or 0.64%, by 16:40GMT, or 11:40AM ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 31 points, or 1.61%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 80 points, or 1.96%.
Industrial production in the U.S. fueled investor appetite after registering its first increase in six months in January, boosting optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Wednesday.
At the same time, the rise in manufacturing production for the same period also beat consensus.
On the downside, the US housing market showed weakness in the first month of the year as both building permits and housing starts declined more than expected.
Meanwhile, producer price inflation (PPI) in the U.S. unexpectedly increased, while core PPI also rose more than estimated, according to data from the Commerce Department.
The price increase could add credence to the belief that the Fed will hike interest rates twice this year, according to a Reuters poll of economists published on Tuesday.
Along similar lines, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari hinted that next increase in the price of money could come in March, though he stressed that any decision would be data-dependent.
In this sense, Investors will be focusing on minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting due on Wednesday at 19:00GMT, or 2:00PM ET, for fresh indications on whether the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates at all this year.
Among active movers on the company front, Fossil Group (O:FOSL) shares jumped 26% after the watch and jewelry maker late Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Priceline (O:PCLN) rallied near 11% after the company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations.
Shares of Kinder Morgan (N:KMI) surged 9.4% after Warren Buffett revealed a 26 million share stake in the natural gas and refined petroleum products firm.
On the downside, shares of health IT firm Cerner Corporation (O:CERN) plunged 7.5% after the company reported disappointing quarterly earnings after Tuesday’s closing bell.