US stocks recoup early losses after Fed minutes, S&P 500 closes at record

The main US stock indices erased their early losses on Wednesday and closed higher, as S&P 500 hit a new record close following the Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

The Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed that the US monetary policy that includes near zero interest rates and asset purchases will remain unchanged from previous meetings for some time.

The minutes indicated that despite some signs of improvement in the US economy, and Fed officials believe that the economy needs further progress and growth before any decisions are taken to change monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve decided during that meeting to hold interest rates between zero and 0.25% unchanged, and raised its forecast for US GDP growth by 6.5% in 2021 from 4.2% in December.

US President Joe Biden expressed his readiness to discuss his administration's plan to increase corporate taxes to 28%.

To the oil market, WTI crude April futures rose 0.7%, or 44 cents, and closed at $59.77 a barrel, after hitting a high of $60.04 and a low of $58.1.

Brent May futures rose 0.7% or 42 cents, and closed at $63.16 a barrel, after hitting a high of $63.5 and a low of $61.6.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose less than 0.1% or 16 points, and closed at 33,446, with a day high of 33,521, and a low of 33,347.

S&P 500 rose 0.1% or 6 points to 4,079, after hitting a high of 4,083 and a low of 4,068.

Nasdaq fell less than 0.1% or 9 points to 13,688, with a high of 13,733 and a low of 13,653 points.