Wall Street Today | Stocks Post Modest Gains on Mixed Fed Views

US stocks struggled to sustain the rally as the guessing game continues on whether the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and could be ready to start cutting next year.

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said rates may need to rise further should progress on inflation stall. It’s possible borrowing costs will stay above their pre-pandemic level to give policymakers room to cut should a shock hit the economy, she said.

Meanwhile, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he’s increasingly confident that the monetary policy is well positioned to bring inflation back down to the 2% target without a sharp increase in unemployment.

If the decline in inflation continues "for several more months ... three months, four months, five months ... we could start lowering the policy rate just because inflation is lower," he said.

Which side will prevail would be anyone’s guess.

In economic news, consumer confidence rose in November for the first time in four months as expectations for future business conditions, job availability and incomes improved. The index tracked by the Conference Board rose to 102 from a downwardly revised 99.1 in October even when about two-thirds of consumers surveyed still see a recession to be “somewhat” or “very likely” over the next 12 months, according to a press release.

Meanwhile, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index showed home prices rose 3.9% in September from a year earlier even as the 30-year fixed mortgage climbed toward 8%. That adds to evidence of consumers' resilience even in the face of higher interest rates.

“Although this year's increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed the quantity of homes sold, the relative shortage of inventory for sale has been a solid support for prices,” S&P DJI Managing Director Craig J. Lazzara said. “Unless higher rates or exogenous events lead to general economic weakness, the breadth and strength of this month's report are consistent with an optimistic view of future results."

Gold rose to a six-month high as the US dollar weakened, making the precious metal more attractive to holders of other currencies. Speculation that the Fed is done raising interest rates have also boosted the appeal of the commodity that doesn’t offer any yields.

Crude oil advanced for the first time in four sessions on expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners will reach an agreement on further production cuts after delaying their ministerial meeting.

Amazon Web Services also introduced a generative AI digital assistant called Amazon Q for businesses, adding that it won't train its underlying models using customers' content.

Coinbase shares rallied 7.1% as bitcoin extends its gains. The stock rallied even after Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF sold about 44,000 Coinbase shares worth about $5.3 million, according to Cointelegraph.

The Carlyle Group advanced 4.9% after the S&P Dow Jones Indices said the private equity asset manager will join the S&P MidCap 400 effective before the open of trading on Nov. 30. Clearway Energy also gained as the company is expected to replace Veritiv in the S&P SmallCap 600.