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U.S. stocks extend gains despite rate hike concerns

Xinhua, December 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks kept rising Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 setting new closing record highs, as investors assessed the case of a December rate hike ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 297.84 points, or 1.55 percent, to 19,549.62. The S&P 500 added 29.12 points, or 1.32 percent, to 2,241.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 60.76 points, or 1.14 percent, to 5,393.76.

The U.S. central bank will hold its policy meeting on Dec. 13-14. Analysts thought that the Fed raising rates in a week seems a foregone conclusion, but the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may struggle to communicate what it will do next.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a December rate hike were 94.9 percent.

Some traders attributed much of Wednesday's gains to the Trump rally. As of Wednesday's close, the Dow has posted gains in 18 of the past 22 sessions and 12 record closes since the election.

On economic front, the number of job openings was little changed at 5.5 million on the last business day of October, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Overseas, the European Central Bank (ECB) will make an announcement Thursday after the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting. The ECB is expected to extend its asset purchase program to further stimulate the euro zone economy, amid the political uncertainty in Italy.

European equities ended sharply higher Wednesday as investors awaited the ECB decision. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange surged 1.96 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index leapt 1.81 percent. Enditem