US stocks edged higher on Wednesday, interrupting the week’s pullback as investors weighed how the economy will cope with higher interest rates. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each rose 0.3% from yesterday’s six-week lows, while the Dow was little changed.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 bps at its current meeting. However, the accompanying Summary of Economic Projections will likely highlight divisions within the FOMC, as an uncertain outlook fuels disagreement over the policy path and forward guidance. Hawkish fears were reinforced by stronger-than-expected retail sales data and a sharp pickup in import inflation.
Chipmakers and hardware stocks extended Tuesday’s rebound, after recent worries that AI safety concerns raised by Anthropic and OpenAI could slow the rapid growth in hyperscaler capital spending. Intel, Marvell, and Dell each climbed more than 3%. In contrast, banks, retailers, and pharmaceutical companies were broadly flat.
