Stocks were rising modestly Wednesday on gains for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's assertion that the central bank can leave interest rates alone for a while. But concerns about the China-U.S. trade dispute was keeping gains in check.
- Disney's (NYSE:DIS) gain of more than 4.6% was worth more than two-thirds of the Dow's 0.3% gain on the day after reporting 10 million users of its new Disney+ streaming service. Also boosting the blue-chip index were Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
- Powell told Congress' Joint Economic Committee that he remains comfortable with the Fed's key federal funds rate at 1.5% to 1.75%. The rate nicely supports an economy with low unemployment and low inflation, he said. He did warn that sky-high deficits were unsustainable. 's Fed Rate Monitor Tool sees almost no chance of a rate change at the Fed's December meeting, with rates likely to remain stable until at least through spring.
- The China-U.S. trade fight was looming over the market after The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese insistence that existing tariffs on Chinese imports be removed is proving a big challenge in getting the two sides to commit to a phase one agreement. The tariff issue has been dogging the negotiations for months.
