US Treasuries rallied and the S&P 500 closed at a record high as investors weighed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s November meeting and the prospect of the incoming Trump administration imposing tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico.
The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year Treasury was down 0.02 percentage points at 4.25 per cent on Tuesday afternoon, a one-week low. Yields, which move inversely to price, had been higher for most of the session, but began to track lower following the release of the Fed minutes, which showed policymakers favoured a gradual pace of interest rate cuts.
The S&P 500 trimmed some of its gains following the release of the minutes, but recovered to close 0.6 per cent higher at a record. The Nasdaq Composite also climbed 0.6 per cent, but was shy of a new peak.
The Russell 2000 fell 0.7 per cent from Monday’s close, which was its second-highest finishing level on record.
https://www.ft.com/content/be841061-81c9-493d-bf13-94a3b3267afe
