While you were sleeping: Dow rises as Fed sees three hikes in 2018

Wall Street continued its inexorable rise as the US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the third time this year and held to its forecast for three rate hikes next year.

The Federal Open Market Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1-1/4 to 1‑1/2% "in view of realised and expected labour market conditions and inflation," it said in a statement.

Charles Evans and Neel Kashkari voted against the hike as they preferred at this meeting to maintain the existing target range for the federal funds rate, the FOMC said.

The Fed upgraded its outlook for economic growth next year and held to its forecast for three rate increases in 2018.

"Averaging through hurricane-related fluctuations, job gains have been solid, and the unemployment rate declined further," the Fed said.

"Household spending has been expanding at a moderate rate, and growth in business fixed investment has picked up in recent quarters.  Inflation on a 12‑month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2% in the near term but to stabilise around the committee's 2% objective over the medium term." 

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 80.63 points, or 0.3%, to 24,585.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2% to 6875.80 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index eased 0.05% to 2662.85.

More intraday record highs
Earlier, the Dow rose to a record 24,666.02 ahead of the Fed announcement, while the S&P 500 advanced to an all-time high 2671.88 amid reports the Senate and House Republicans had reached a deal on the tax bill.

"We don't know the details of the tax plan but we know that there will be one. The Fed will feel very comfortable given the good growth, stable inflation. Tax code stimulus should provide the Fed additional confidence in 2018," Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments in New York, told Reuters.

The Dow moved higher as gains by Caterpillar and Boeing, up 3.8% and 1% respectively, outweighed slides in IBM and American Express, down 1.4% and 0.8% respectively.

A Labour Department report showed its so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and fuel, rose 0.1% in November from the prior month and climbed 1.7% from a year earlier. That was less than economists had predicted.

"Whatever jitters were aroused by [Tuesday's] PPI should be allayed by the CPI this morning, where core price pressures remain elusive," Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, wrote in an email before the Fed's announcement, Bloomberg reported.

"CPI inflation tends to run 50 basis points or so above the Fed's target PCE inflation rate, so today's data suggests the Fed should be cautious in raising rates if inflation is going to be sustained at 2%."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended was down 0.2%. The UK's FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.1%, Germany's DAX Index fell 0.4% and France's CAC 40 Index retreated 0.5%.

(BusinessDesk)