US stocks recover

US stocks recover

new york

Major U.S. stock indexes mounted a solid comeback Wednesday, recovering their losses from the prior day and finishing on track for a weekly gain.

It was the Dow Jones industrial average’s biggest gain in five weeks.

In the absence of any major new economic data, investors focused on companies reporting quarterly earnings or otherwise garnering headlines.

Tiffany & Co. was a favorite early on, vaulting more than 9 percent on a sharp increase in earnings and revenue. Traders also cheered news of Netflix’s plans to make a deeper foray into Europe, sending the Internet video service’s shares up 5 percent.

Investors got a closer look at discussions by the Federal Reserve’s policymakers in their most-recent meeting last month. Wall Street’s reaction was muted, however, and the market kept on the upward trajectory it set upon early on.

U.S. index futures rose before the opening of regular stock trading. The market opened higher and stayed in positive territory throughout the day.

Major indexes have finished higher three of the last four trading days.

Fed weighs options for rate increase

WASHINGTON

The Federal Reserve has begun to discuss the tools it could use to finally pull back the extraordinary stimulus it’s provided the U.S. economy since 2008. But Fed officials plan further discussions and have set no timetable for any increase in interest rates.

Minutes of the Fed’s April 29-30 meeting released Wednesday show that officials discussed how to unwind the support they’ve given the economy once they decide to begin raising the Fed’s key short-term rate. That rate has remained at a record low near zero since December 2008.

The minutes stressed that the discussion should not be viewed as a signal that an increase in short-term rates is imminent. Because the economy is still recovering, most analysts don’t think the Fed will start boosting rates before the second half of 2015.

Economists said there was little new information in the minutes, which were released as usual three weeks after the most recent Fed meeting.

PetSmart to pull treats from China

NEW YORK

PetSmart said it will join rival Petco and stop selling dog and cat treats made in China because of ongoing fears that the treats are making pets sick.

Investigators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration haven’t been able to prove that treats made in China are making pets ill. But since 2007, the agency has received more than 4,800 complaints of pet illnesses and more than 1,000 reports of dog deaths after eating Chinese-made chicken, duck or sweet potato jerky treats.

PetSmart Inc., which runs more than 1,300 stores, plans to have the treats off of its shelves by March 2015.

Vindicator staff/wire reports