Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 29 points
The Dow gained 29.58 points, or 0.11% to end the day at 27,911.30. The S&P 500 climbed 0.29% to 3,141.63. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.44% to 8,654.05. Stocks posted slight gains as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve outlook on monetary policy.
No rate hikes in 2020
The Fed said it does not expect to make any changes to its monetary policy stance through 2020. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also noted it would take persistently high inflation for the central bank to change that position. Bottom line, the Fed will keep rates low for an extended period of time. In theory, this should be stimulative for stocks and bond prices. The market’s attention now turns back to U.S.-China trade relations as a Sunday deadline quickly approaches.
United Technologies and J&J rise, Home Depot slides
United Technologies and Johnson & Johnson were among the best-performing Dow stocks, rising 1.31% and 0.71%, respectively. Home Depot, meanwhile, slid 1.81% after issuing weaker-than-expected sales growth guidance.
