US stocks mostly up as Fed debate intensifies

US stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday as Federal Reserve minutes showed rising debate over recent improvements in the jobs market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.54 points (0.35 per cent) to 16,979.13. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 4.91 (0.25 per cent) to 1,986.51, narrowly missing a record. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.03 (0.02 per cent) to 4,526.48. Large US retailer Target advanced 1.8 per cent after the company trimmed its 2014 profit forecast due to poor results in Canada and the costs of a big consumer data breach last year. But the company said US sales picked up in the latter part of the quarter. Home-improvement retailer Lowe's rose 1.6 per cent as second-quarter earnings rose 10.4 per cent to $1.0 billion behind a 4.4 per cent rise in comparable store sales. However, Lowe's lowered its forecast for 2014 sales growth to 4.5 per cent from 5 per cent. Dow component Home Depot, another big home-improvement retailer, jumped 2.9 per cent. Teen fashion house American Eagle Outfitters jumped 12.0 per cent as earnings of three cents per share beat an analyst forecast to break even. Interim chief executive Jay Schottenstein said the results reflected ‘significant progress’ in improving the company's inventory levels. Bank of America rose 0.5 per cent on reports the company was close to a $17 billion agreement with the Justice Department to settle charges it misled investors on mortgage-linked securities. Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.43 per cent from 2.41 per cent Tuesday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.22 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely, according to AFP.