Stocks rise after Fed minutes; Brent falls

By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose on Wall Street on Wednesday, lifting a global gauge of stocks as the Federal Reserve detailed its plan to let a strengthening economy fend for itself while ce Brent fell as Libyan oil pumps returned to service. Minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting showed the US central bank began detailing plans to exit the world’s largest economy from an era of loose monetary policy as its asset purchases wind down probably in October. Wall Street stocks traded higher after the minutes were released and closed near session highs, erasing about half of their losses over the past two sessions. “The market, after digesting the Fed minutes, concluded that the bond-buying program ending in October is a sign of economic strength,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York. “So while it was a little more shocking, the bottom line is that the economy doesn’t need any more crutches.” The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78.99 points, or 0.47 percent, to 16,985.61, the S&P 500 gained 9.12 points, or 0.46 percent, to 1,972.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27, 57 points or 0.63 percent to 4.03.4.4. The FTSEuroFirst 300 index of leading European shares was flat on the day and MSCI’s global share index rose 0.2%. U.S. dollar-denominated Nikkei futures rose 0.6 percent. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s speech in London did little to change markets, with him reiterating his message that the ECB is ready to use “unconventional tools” if needed to support growth. Brent crude hit a one-month low near $108 a barrel after a Libyan oil field restarted and supply concerns eased, while weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration showed inventories of US crude oil rose and demand for gasoline fell. “Gasoline demand has not picked up as expected and that disappointment shows in the negative reaction,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. Brent fell 0.6 percent to $108.26 and U.S. crude lost 1.2 percent, the most since late May, to $102.16. Currency markets appreciated the lack of surprises from the Fed’s minutes, maintaining an even tone, with the US dollar weakening against a basket of currencies, while the euro strengthened 0.2% against the greenback. “The minutes reflect a central bank that is gaining more confidence in the recovery and one that is increasingly concerned about exit strategy issues,” said Eric Green, head of US rates and economic research at TD Securities. in a note. “These minutes are increasingly less convenient than previous iterations, but still convenient.” The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell slightly to 2.5576 percent after the Fed minutes. Upbeat US employment data last week led some economists to predict the Fed would raise interest rates sooner than previously thought, but yields have since fallen. Gold rose 0.7% to $1,328.10 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Karen Brettell, Anna Louie Sussman and Richard Leong; Editing by James Dalgleish, Meredith Mazzilli and Chris Reese)