- Stocks rose as minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting showed no signs of officials becoming more hawkish to combat inflation anytime soon.
- The S&P 500 gained ground after earlier losses, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed. The dollar lost ground. Treasury two-year yields increased, but the 10-year rate fluctuated. Two-year yields are more sensitive to impending policy adjustments. For traders, half-point rate hikes by the Federal Reserve at each of its next two policy sessions are no longer a given. Markets priced less than 100 basis points of cumulative raises at the June and July meetings, according to swap contracts released on Wednesday.
- In line with Fed chair Jerome Powell's statements, most US policymakers anticipated half-point rate rises as acceptable at the next two meetings. While they acknowledged that rates could rise to the point where they constrain the economy, they also hinted at a pause: "expedited" tightening would leave the Fed "well positioned later this year to assess the effects of policy firming and the extent to which economic developments warranted policy adjustments," they said.