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Investing.com — U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes from September.
At 10:27 ET (14:27 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was flat.
Producer prices rose by more than expected in September, data that would not give the Fed any reason to slow its interest rate increases in its quest to tame inflation.
For the year, producer prices rose 8.5%, edging higher than the expected 8.4%. But it has cooled since the 8.7% recorded in August.
Investors have been worried that the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes would push the economy into a recession, but Fed officials have been pretty consistent in public appearances in recent days, saying it would be a mistake to let up too soon.
Concerns about a recession have encouraged a move away from riskier assets, pressuring growth stocks.
Shares of beverage and snack maker PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) rose 4% after it raised its outlook for revenue and profit, citing good demand despite price increases.
Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 2%, to $87.35 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures was down 2% to $92.47 a barrel. Gold Futures fell 0.6% to $1676.
