While you were sleeping: UPDATED Wall St rebounds on Fed minutes
Better than expected economic data also helped push up shares.
Better than expected economic data also helped push up shares.
Wall Street recovered from earlier losses after minutes from the June US Federal Reserve meeting cemented bets interest rates won't rise any time soon.
The latest better than expected data on the US economy also had a bearing on the rebound.
Last month's weaker than expected US jobs data, as well as the possibility of a Brexit vote, weighed on the decision of Fed officials to keep rates steady at the June 14-15 meeting.
"Participants generally agreed it was advisable to avoid over-reacting to one or two labour market reports; however, the implications of the recent data on labour market conditions for the economic outlook were uncertain," the Federal Open Market Committee minutes said.
"Members generally agreed that before assessing whether another step in removing monetary accommodation was warranted, it was prudent to wait for additional data regarding labour market conditions as well as information that would allow them to assess the consequences of the UK Brexit vote for global financial conditions and the US economic outlook."
Dow adds 78 points
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 78 points, or 0.4%, to 17,918.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.75% to 4859.16 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.5% to 2099.73.
The Dow moved higher as gains in shares of Merck and Home Depot, up 2.1% and 1.6%, outweighed declines in shares of DuPont and Verizon, down 2.1% and 0.8% respectively.
"The selloff last week was an over-reaction and the attempted rally was too fast and furious," Wunderlich Equity Capital Markets chief market strategist Art Hogan told Reuters.
"I think the compression of time and speed of the markets causes the pendulum to swing too far on every move we make."
Biotech firm Medivation added 0.9% after saying it had signed confidentiality agreements with several suitors, including Sanofi and Celgene, opening the door to potential takeover talks. Celgene shares rose 4.3%.
Goldman predicts fall
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs expects the S&P 500 will fall as much as 10% before it will recover to 2100 by the end of the year.
"Although investors appear complacent in the wake of Brexit, a maturing economic cycle with elevated valuations, decelerating buybacks, and growing political uncertainty provide the basis for potential market weakness in the second half," Goldman Sachs chief US equity strategist David Kostin and his team wrote, according to Bloomberg.
"However, above-trend US GDP growth, a cautious Fed, and an earnings recovery will return the S&P 500 to 2100 by year end, extending the flat market of the past two years."
Indeed, the latest data on the US economy were better than anticipated. An Institute for Supply Management report shows its non-manufacturing index rose to 56.5 last month, the highest since November, and up from 52.9 in May.
"The economy continues to move forward at a good clip and is in a strong position to weather the uncertainty and market volatility after the Brexit vote," Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York, told Reuters.
"We still don't think Brexit means that much for this economy."
Europe's Stoxx 600 Index finished the session with a slide of 1.7% from the previous close, as bank shares weakened. The UK's FTSE 100 index dropped 1.3%, while Germany's DAX index dropped 1.7% and France's CAC 40 index slid 1.9%.
Shares of Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse Group, Banco Popular Espanol and Italy's Banco Popolare Societa Cooperativa all touched fresh record lows.
(BusinessDesk)