U.S. stocks rose, with the Nasdaq Composite Index climbing to a 14-year high, as tensions eased over global conflicts. Dollar General Corp. rallied on merger activity.
Dollar General surged 12 percent after offering $9.7 billion for Family Dollar, which rallied 4.9 percent. Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. led gains among industrial companies as oil prices fell. Homebuilders rose as confidence in the industry climbed to the highest level in seven months. Internet and biotechnology stocks advanced, continuing to pare losses from earlier this year.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.9 percent to 1,971.74 at 4 p.m. in New York, within 0.8 percent of an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 175.83 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,838.74. The Nasdaq jumped 1 percent to the highest level since 2000. About 5.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 12 percent below the three-month average.
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EUR/USD retreats to 1.0750, eyes on Fedspeak
EUR/USD stays under modest bearish pressure and trades at around 1.0750 on Wednesday. Hawkish comments from Fed officials help the US Dollar stay resilient and don't allow the pair to stage a rebound.
GBP/USD remains on the defensive around 1.2500 ahead of BoE
The constructive tone in the Greenback maintains the risk complex under pressure on Wednesday, motivating GBP/USD to add to Tuesday's losses and gyrate around the 1.2500 zone prior to the upcoming BoE's interest rate decision.
Gold flirts with $2,320 as USD demand losses steam
Gold struggles to make a decisive move in either direction and moves sideways in a narrow channel above $2,300. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield clings to modest gains near 4.5% and limits XAU/USD's upside.
SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit sees redacted filing go public, XRP dips to $0.51
Ripple (XRP) dipped to $0.51 low on Wednesday, erasing its gains from earlier this week. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing is now public, in its redacted version.
Softer growth, cooler inflation and rate cuts remain on the horizon
Economic growth in the US appears to be in solid shape. Although real GDP growth came in well below consensus expectations, the headline miss was mostly the result of larger-than-anticipated drags from trade and inventories.