US equities managed to end Wednesday on a positive note despite fluctuations during the day. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher for the ninth time in the past ten sessions. The Nasdaq climbed 102.05 points or 0.6 percent to 17,918.99 and the S&P 500 rose 23.73 points or 0.4 percent to 5,620.85, while the narrower Dow inched up 55.52 points or 0.1 percent to 40,890.49. The higher close on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which seemingly provided additional support for expectations of an interest rate cut in September. Housing stocks saw substantial strength on the day amid optimism about lower interest rates, resulting in a 2.7 percent surge by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
