Stocks Closed at Records after Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks closed at records on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting suggested caution among policy makers on the next interest rate hike which the market had widely expected in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.21 points, or 0.18%, to 22,872.89. The S&P 500 gained 4.60 points, or 0.18%, to 2,555.24. The Nasdaq Composite added 16.30 points, or 0.25%, to 6,603.55.

Oil prices rose for the third day on Wednesday as OPEC forecast higher demand for 2018 and heightened tensions in Kurdistan supported prices. Brent crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $56.94 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $51.30 a barrel.

Federal Reserve policymakers had a prolonged debate about the prospects of a pickup in inflation and slowing the path of future interest rate rises if it did not, according to the minutes of the U.S. central bank’s last policy meeting on Sept. 19-20 released on Wednesday.