US stocks tick up as Fed official suggests slight taper
Trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. The stock market edged higher Monday as a Federal Reserve official suggested that the central bank could take a small step next week to reel in its stimulus program. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW
NEW YORK—US stocks edged higher Monday as a Federal Reserve official suggested that the central bank could take a small step next week to reel in its stimulus program.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.52 points (0.03 percent) at 16,025.72.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 3.29 (0.18 percent) to 1,808.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 6.23 (0.15 percent) at 4,068.75.
James Bullard, the president of the Fed’s St. Louis branch, said in a speech that “a small taper” of the $85 billion a month asset-purchase program might be a possibility as Fed policy makers wrestle with how to respond to signs of improvement in the economy and jobs market.
