US stocks rose for the third straight day as investors parsed economic data that hinted at slightly slower growth, prompting some to brush off the hawkish stance that the Federal Reserve reiterated in its June meeting minutes as outdated.
Since the last Fed meeting, “the economic data, the inflation data and the bond market response has turned much more dovish,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group. “All of that is suggesting that really what the Fed thought 30 days ago is not that meaningful at the moment.”
“Indeed, the minutes reflected a Fed that is concerned about inflation, and even though they believe that inflation could stay high for a while and growth risks are skewed to the downside, they talk about the potential of an even more restrictive policy in time,” said Priya Misra, global head of rates strategy at TD Securities. “This is hawkish relative to a market that has increasingly become convinced that the Fed is about to blink on hikes due to an imminent recession.