By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street finished modestly higher and U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday amid pre-holiday doldrums and a lack of substantive market catalysts.
All three major American indices advanced, with the Nasdaq reaching an all-time high Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:)’s quarterly results and ahead of the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, both expected on Wednesday.
“A lot of people are just waiting for Nvidia to report,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “And it shouldn’t have a broad effect, but it will impact how the market trades.”
“There has been so much emphasis on AI that every company seems to be talking about integrating it into their operations,” Pavlik added.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Tuesday calmed fears of a rate hike, saying recent economic data suggests the Fed’s restrictive policies are working as indicated.
Atlanta Fed Chairman Raphael Bostic said the central bank must tread carefully ahead of its first rate cut to avoid pent-up spending and keep inflation “bouncing around.”
The minutes of the latest meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee will be released on Wednesday and will be analyzed for clues about the timing and extent of policy easing this year.
“(The Fed) is willing to think about rate cuts, but we’re not there yet. Those are the same thoughts we took from their last meeting,” Pavlik said. “It’s like asking your parents to take you to Disney World and they say, ‘we’ll think about it.’ At least they don’t say ‘no’.”
The S&P 500 rose 66.22 points, or 0.17%, to 39,872.99, the S&P 500 gained 13.28 points, or 0.25%, to 5,321.41 and added 37.75 points, or 0 .22%, to 16,832.62.
European shares closed slightly lower, retreating from record highs, as investors, cautious about central bank policy, waited for economic data.
The pan-European index lost 0.18% and the MSCI index for shares around the world lost 0.03%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.79%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.91% lower, but lost 0.31%.
U.S. Treasury yields fell as investors waited for the Fed minutes, eager for clues on the timing of rate cuts.
Benchmark 10-year bonds last rose 32/6 in price to yield 4.4139%, up from 4.437% late on Friday.
The 30-year bond last rose 11/32 in price to yield 4.552%, up from 4.573% late on Friday.
The dollar held steady against a basket of world currencies as investors analyzed comments from Fed officials.
The rate rose 0.06%, while the euro fell 0.01% to $1.0854.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.05% against the dollar at 156.20 per dollar, while the British pound last traded at $1.2709, up 0.04% on the day.
Cryptocurrencies rose amid signs that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could approve a spot ether exchange-traded fund.
was last up 6.3%, while bitcoin reversed an earlier gain to settle 0.2% lower.
Oil prices fell, widening losses as the prospect of continued inflation and ‘higher’ interest rates raised concerns about dampening demand.
fell 0.68% to settle at $79.26 per barrel and settled at $82.88 per barrel, down 0.99% on the day.
The gold price retreated from a record high while the dollar held steady.
fell 0.1% to $2,422.58 an ounce.
