How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 1/4/2023

The Associated Press

Stocks ended higher on Wall Street after a day of wavering as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting of policymakers underscored how the central bank remains determined to keep rates high to crush inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also rose.

Stocks had rallied earlier after the government reported that the number of job openings in November was higher than expected, which bolsters hopes that the economy can avoid sliding into a protracted recession. Crude oil prices fell and Treasury yields ended lower.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 rose 28.83 points, or 0.8%, to 3,852.97.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133.40 points, or 0.4%, to 33,269.77.

The Nasdaq rose 71.78 points, or 0.7%, to 10,458.76.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.81 points, or 1.2%, to 1,772.54.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 13.47 points, or 0.4%.

The Dow is up 122.52 points, or 0.4%.

The Nasdaq is down 7.72 points, or 0.1%.

The Russell 2000 is up 11.30 points, or 0.6%.