Dow Jones closes 186 points higher as Wall Street lifts

NEW YORK, New York – U.S. stocks made minor gains on Tuesday as investors continue to weigh up the future direction of interest rates, whether inflation will be brought under control, and if a soft landing can be achieved.

“There are some indications that inflation is slowing significantly. What investors are really looking for is a gap down in major inflation data that could probably get the Fed’s attention,” Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, told Reuters Thomson Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 106.98 points or 1.01 percent to close Tuesday at 10,742.63.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 186.45 points or 0.56 percent to 33,704.10.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 rose 27.16 points or 0.70 percent to 3,919.25.

The U.S. dollar clawed back a fraction of its recent losses Tuesday. The euro edged down to 1.0734 by the U.S. close. The British pound was little changed at 1.2151. The Japanese yen dipped to 132.20. The Swiss franc was slightly easier at 0.9228.

The Canadian dollar slipped to 1.3422. The Australian dollar eased to 0.6892. The New Zealand dollar was lower at 0.6369.

On overseas equity markets, the FTSE 100 in London declined 0.39 percent Tuesday. The German Dax dropped 0.12 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 was off 0.55 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng retreated 0.27 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.21 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.78 percent.

The Australian All Ordinaries let go 0.26 percent. In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite fell 0.98 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.16 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Composite edged up 0.05 percent.