The S&P 500 closed higher Wednesday after President Donald Trump denied reports that he was close to firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 231 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite added 0.3% to clinch a fresh closing record of 20,730.49.
Trump denies reports close to firing Powell President Trump told reporters he was "not planning anything" related to Powell, denying earlier reports that he would move forward with firing him imminently. Trump, however, did voice his frustration with Powell for keeping rates high and accused him of mishandling a costly renovation of the Fed headquarters.
Wholesale inflation remains unchanged in June U.S. producer prices held steady on a monthly basis and grew at a slower annualized pace in June, restrained in part by a decline in travel accommodation services costs that helped offset climbing prices for final demand goods.
In the twelve months through June, the producer price index advanced 2.3%, after rising by 2.7% in May, Labor Department data showed on Wednesday. Month-on-month, the reading stood at 0.0%, slowing from a prior level of 0.3%.
Economists had projected a yearly rate of 2.5% and 0.2% on a monthly basis.
The new report comes after data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer prices grew at a faster pace in June, indicating that the impact of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies may be starting to emerge.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Headline consumer price growth came in at 2.7% in the twelve months to June, compared with expectations of 2.6% and May’s reading of 2.4%. Month-on-month, the figure was 0.3%, up from 0.1% in May and in line with projections.
The Fed’s Beige Book is also due to be published. The report, which is released eight times a year, brings together anecdotal information on current economic conditions, including interviews with businesses, economists, market experts and other sources.
"The Beige Book has taken on added importance in the present environment given all the moving pieces influencing economic data, and it’s likely to reflect continued stagflationary forces in the domestic economic (with growth headwinds and upward pressure on prices from trade friction)," analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note to clients.
More tariff uncertainty Uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs also remained squarely in play. Trump on Tuesday evening said his threatened 200% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports will come by the month-end, when his other proposed trade levies are set to take effect.
The president also announced on Tuesday that the U.S. would begin placing a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia as part of a trade deal with the Southeast Asian nation.
The pact comes after the White House revealed preliminary or framework agreements with the United Kingdom, China, and Vietnam.
Trump has said more deals are on the way, with the clock ticking down closer to an impending August 1 deadline for his so-called "reciprocal" levies to snap into effect. The White House has said the deadline will not be moved, after it was previously delayed following deep market ructions when Trump first unveiled the duties in April.
