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U.S. stocks mostly higher amid Fed officials speech

Xinhua, May 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks wavered in the morning session on Monday, as Wall Street digested comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials for clues on the timing of the next rate hike.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.45 points, or 0.14 percent, to 17,525.39. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.30 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,052.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 13.73 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,783.29.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Monday that two-to-three rate hikes this year were reasonable and that inflation was on track to meet the Fed's goal of 2 percent in the next year or two, according to media reports.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, echoed that a relatively tight labor market in the United States may put upward pressure on inflation, supporting the case for higher interest rates.

Investors tried to shake off worries that the possibility of a June rate hike becomes higher after the release of the Federal Reserve's hawkish minutes from its April meeting, but the latest speech from Fed officials indicated a hike sooner rather than later.

U.S. stocks ended higher Friday as worries about a summer rate hike appeared to recede after recent stock declines. Enditem