US stocks edge higher; bonds fall follwing Fed pause
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes inched further into record territory Wednesday after AT&T, Boeing and others joined the parade of big companies reporting stronger profits than analysts expected. Stocks that pay big dividends were particularly strong after the Federal Reserve took a pause in its slow-moving campaign to lift interest rates, as Treasury yields sank lower.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up by 0.70 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,477.83 and added a whisper to its record high set a day earlier.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 97.58 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,711.01, and the Nasdaq composite rose 10.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,422.75. Both are at record highs. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 8.11 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,442.28, and the New York Stock Exchange was nearly evenly split between stocks that rose and fell.
While announcing its decision to hold shortterm rates steady, the Federal Reserve said that it may begin paring the massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet it built up following the financial crisis “relatively soon,” which some analysts took to mean as September. The Fed also said that inflation looks to remain below its target of 2 percent in the near term.
After the Fed’s announcement, drops for Treasury yields accelerated, and the 10-year yield fell to 2.29 percent from 2.33 percent late Tuesday.