Stocks gain ground ahead of holiday

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting showed central bank officials agreed that smaller rate hikes would likely be appropriate “soon.”

The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite closed 1% higher.

Long-term Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 3.69% from 3.76%.

At the Nov. 1-2 meeting, Fed officials expressed uncertainty about how long it might take for their rate hikes to slow the economy enough to tame inflation.

Wall Street has been closely watching the latest economic and inflation data for any signs that might allow the Fed to ease up on future rate increases. Investors are worried that the Fed could slam the brakes too hard on economic growth and bring on a recession.

Technology stocks and some big retailers helped drive a big share of the gains in the benchmark S&P 500 index Wednesday. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 3% and Target rose 3.5%.

Farming equipment maker Deere gained 5% after reporting stronger financial results than analysts were expecting.

Homebuilders rose broadly following a government report showing that sales of new U.S. homes rose more than expected in October. Lennar gained 1.6% and D.R. Horton rose 2.2%.

Crude oil prices fell 3.7%, which weighed down energy stocks. Hess fell 2.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 23.68 points to 4,027.26. The Dow gained 95.96 points to 34,194.06. The Nasdaq rose 110.91 points to 11,285.32.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies edged higher, adding 3.08 points, or 0.2%, to close at 1,863.52.

European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets closed mixed overnight.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will close early Friday.