U.S. stocks mostly held onto tentative gains Wednesday afternoon after the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's most recent gathering signaled policy makers remain upbeat on the U.S. economy, lifting the outlook for growth this year and the next. The policy-setting FOMC also indicated a desire to remove language that signaled that the Fed remained "accommodative" in its monetary policy strategy, with the economy on solid footing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.34% was off 49 points, or 0.2%, 25,771, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.04% added 2 points, or 0.1%, at 2,865, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.38% advanced 28 points, or 0.4%, at 7,891. The Fed said it expects the economy will expand at an above-trend pace, minutes from the central bank's latest policy meeting show. The staff saw growth in the second half of this year as slightly slower than the first half, and raised projections for GDP growth "a little" higher over 2018 and 2019, compared to their June forecast.
Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.