Major US stock indices moderately increased on Wednesday, fixing the fifth session increase in a row. The focus of the market was the protocol of the May meeting of the Fed, which signaled that interest rates could be raised already at the June meeting of the Fed

"Fed executives noted that" it would soon be appropriate "to raise rates again. Also, the Fed leaders are increasingly in agreement on the need to reduce the balance, - reported in the protocol. - According to the leaders of the Central Bank, the slowdown in the economy was only temporary. Also, managers expressed concerns about the recent weakness of inflation, but indicated that it is not so weak that the Fed changed its plan for the rate increase. "

In addition, as it became known, the volume of home sales in the US secondary market declined more than expected in April, which was due to the chronic shortage of houses in the market, which kept prices at a high level and pushed potential home buyers. The National Association of Realtors said that home sales in the secondary market decreased by 2.3%, taking into account seasonal fluctuations, and amounted to 5.57 million units (recalculated for annual rates).

Components of the DOW index finished trading mixed (13 in negative, 17 in positive territory). Most fell shares of General Electric Company (GE, -1.66%). The leader of growth was the shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, + 2.01%).

Almost all sectors of the S & P index recorded an increase. The growth leader was the conglomerate sector (+ 1.3%). Most fell sector of main materials (-0.3%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.36% 21.012.42 +74.51

Nasdaq + 0.40% 6.163.02 +24.31

S & P + 0.25% 2.404.39 +5.97

U.S. stock-index futures were flat ahead of the release the minutes of Federal Reserve's May meeting that could cement the chances of a rate hike next month.

Stocks:

Nikkei 19,742.98 +129.70 +0.66%

Hang Seng 25,428.50 +25.35 +0.10%

Shanghai 3,063.79 +1.84 +0.06%

S&P/ASX 5,768.98 +8.78 +0.15%

FTSE 7,503.67 +18.38 +0.25%

CAC 5,342.66 -5.50 -0.10%

DAX 12,644.76 -14.39 -0.11%

Crude $51.26 (-0.41%)

Gold $1,253.20 (-0.18%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

European stocks closed in the green on Tuesday, with French shares among the biggest advancers as eurozone economic activity remained at a six-year high. But travel-related shares edged lower following a suspected terror attack by a suicide bomber in Manchester, England, which killed 22 people, including children, and injured 59 as people left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

U.S. stock-index benchmarks closed higher Tuesday, marking a fourth straight session in the green following the White House's release of its 2018 budget proposal. The moves come amid mixed economic data and an updraft in shares of financial firms.

China's main stock index fell one percent and the Australian dollar slipped on Wednesday after Moody's cut its sovereign credit rating on China. Moody's said growing leverage in China prompted the downgrade, and warned about slowing economic growth. China's massive debt been at the center of concerns among economists and Beijing in recent months, and has rattled global financial markets since late last year.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei -65.00 19613.28 -0.33%

TOPIX -2.43 1565.22 -0.16%

Hang Seng +11.81 25403.15 +0.05%

CSI 300 +12.95 3424.19 +0.38%

Euro Stoxx 50 +18.50 3595.03 +0.52%

FTSE 100 -11.05 7485.29 -0.15%

DAX +39.69 12659.15 +0.31%

CAC 40 +25.28 5348.16 +0.47%

DJIA +43.08 20937.91 +0.21%

S&P 500 +4.40 2398.42 +0.18%

NASDAQ +5.09 6138.71 +0.08%

S&P/TSX +18.48 15476.94 +0.12%