WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks have given back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs of the session but remain in positive territory.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Nasdaq is up 83.52 points or 0.4 percent at 20,501.98, the S&P 500 is up 15.10 points or 0.2 percent at 6,240.62 and the Dow is up 61.75 points or 0.1 percent at 44,302.51.
The early strength on Wall Street may partly have reflected optimism about a potential trade between the U.S. and the European Union.
A report from the Financial Times indicated EU negotiators are closing in on a trade deal with the U.S. that would cement higher tariffs than those granted to the U.K.
Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the markets higher, with the AI darling jumping by 2.1 percent and becoming the first company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion
Buying interest has waned over the course of the session, however, as President Donald Trump has announced a 50 percent tariff on copper and threatened to impose higher tariffs on other sectors, including up to a 200 percent levy on pharmaceutical imports.
In a Truth Social post Tuesday evening, Trump said he will 'be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade' this morning, with 'an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon.'
Later this afternoon, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting.
The Fed minutes may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the central bank's next meeting on July 29-30.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 93.3 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged later this month.
Sector News
Housing stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index climbing by 1.2 percent.
Notable strength is also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
On the other hand, oil service stocks are giving back ground after yesterday's surge, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.2 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after trending lower over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.4 basis points at 4.383 percent.
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