Wall Street gains ground ahead of Fed's minutes

U.S. stock indexes rose at the start of trading on Wednesday as markets assessed developments in tariff policy and awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump expanded the scope of his global trade war by announcing a 50% tariff on copper imports. He added that long-threatened tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals were also coming soon.

The announcement followed a day after Trump imposed sharp tariff hikes on 14 trade partners, including key U.S. suppliers South Korea and Japan. He also renewed his threat to impose 10% tariffs on imports from Brazil, India, and other BRICS countries.

Separately, Trump renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, calling once again for his immediate resignation.

Later today, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its most recent meeting, which markets will scrutinize for signals regarding the central bank’s policy outlook.

As for market performance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly by less than 0.1% (equivalent to 3 points) to 44,240 points by 16:18 GMT. The broader S&P 500 index gained 0.1% (7 points) to reach 6,233 points, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4% (80 points) to 20,498 points.