Stocks rose slightly higher Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its commitment to bringing down red-hot inflation. All major benchmarks climbed into positive territory after trading choppily throughout the session.
Elsewhere, crude oil remained below $100 per barrel on Wednesday after falling below that threshold for the first-time since mid-May on Tuesday as investors weigh all potential risks against possible recession outlooks.
Wall Street has been weighing the prospects of an impending economic downturn for several weeks as more and more economic data shows signs of cooling. Investors also fear more hawkish moves from the Fed will also harm economic growth. Possible recession sentiment has held equities in a bear market.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Federal Reserve sees 'more restrictive' policy as likely to combat inflation:
Federal Reserve officials in June emphasized that bringing down inflation, even at the risk of slowing economic growth, is the most important policy action for the foreseeable future, according to Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes released Wednesday.
Policymakers agreed that the current economic outlook "warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy," and an "even more restrictive stance" could be necessary if elevated inflation pressures persist, according to the minutes.
"Many participants judged that a significant risk now facing the Committee was that elevated inflation could become entrenched if the public began to question the resolve of the Committee to adjust the stance of policy as warranted," the minuted read, adding that more aggressive policy actions and open communications "would be essential in restoring price stability."
Members also said the upcoming July policy-setting meeting could also see another 50- or 75-basis point interest rate hike. Back in June, the Fed raised rates by 75-basis points for the first time since 1994.
"In discussing potential policy actions at upcoming meetings, participants continued to anticipate that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds rate would be appropriate to achieve the Committee's objectives," the minutes stated. "In particular, participants judged that an increase of 50 or 75 basis points would likely be appropriate at the next meeting."
Job openings fall in May, still outnumber available workers:
Job openings declined in May, but continued to outnumber the number of Americans looking for work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
The institution's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed a total of 11.25 million job openings for the month, a decrease from April's upwardly revised print of 11.68 million. However, the level of job openings remained well above the 5.95 million people counted as unemployed for May--meaning there was nearly 2 job openings for everyone one person looking for work.
Beneath the headline, the rate of vacancies fell to 6.9% from April's 7.2%, quits slightly declined to 4.27 million, layoffs rose slightly to 1.39 million, and hires edged lower to 6.49 million. The hires rates remained unchanged at 4.3% for May.
