Stocks bounce back as mining and consumer companies rise
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are rising Wednesday morning after a four-day losing streak. Mining companies and consumer stocks are making some of the largest gains. Energy companies are falling as the price of oil continues to slide.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,737 as of 2:24 p.m. ET. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,081. The Nasdaq composite picked up 13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,856.
The Federal Reserve wrapped up a two-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon. The central bank kept interest rates near record lows, as expected, delaying another step towards normalizing monetary policy in the face of slowing job gains and a possible British exit from the European Union.
The price of copper rose almost 3 percent. Gold and copper producer Freeport-McMoRan jumped 52 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $10.73. Aluminum producer Alcoa rose 17 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $9.27 and gold miner Newmont Mining added 39 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $35.54.
Consumer stocks also traded higher. Home improvement retailer Home Depot picked up $1.39, or 1.1 percent, to $126.63 and athletic apparel retailer Nike made the largest gain on the Dow, up 74 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $54.88. Retailers like PVH, the owner of the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, and department stores Macy's and Kohl's also rose.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped 81 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $7.69 a barrel in New York. It's fallen more than 5 percent over the last four days. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.06, or 2.1 percent, to $48.77 a barrel in London. Drilling rig operator Transocean fell 32 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $10.82 and Hess lost $1.37, or 2.4 percent, to $56.45.
Whole Foods Market fell $1.03, or 3.2 percent, to $31.50 after the Food and Drug Administration said there are "serious violations" at a kitchen in Massachusetts that may have resulted in contaminated food and the grocery chain hasn't done enough to fix them so far.
The Commerce Department said producer prices rose 0.4 percent in May, the fastest pace in four months, and core inflation also picked up. That's a hint that inflation is growing a bit faster, although it's far short of the Federal Reserve's target.
Shanghai shares were volatile and the yuan slid after global stock benchmark provider MSCI put off including mainland Chinese stocks in its widely followed Emerging Markets Index. MSCI said China needs to make its market more accessible and closer to international standards. Had MSCI included China's domestic stocks in its index, foreign investment in China could have increased.
Bond prices remained high and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note remained at 1.61 percent. The dollar inched up to 106.02 yen from 105.97 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1232 from $1.1205.
France's CAC 40 climbed 1.5 percent and Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.1 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4 percent while South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent.