Wall Street stocks rose in early trading on Wednesday and
narrowed weekly losses for major indexes as traders try to predict whether the
Federal Reserve will reach its goal to get inflation under control.

The S&P 500 rose 9.76 points or 0.25% to 3,917.95 as of
10:24 am Eastern time. The benchmark is now trading close to breakeven for the
week. It had declined for three weeks in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average rose 88.23 points or 0.28% to 31,233.53. The Nasdaq rose 34.15 points
or 0.30% to 11,579.06.

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Retailers and technology companies witnessed solid gains.
Intuit added 1.1%.

Target gained 0.7% after announcing that it is lowering the
mandatory retirement age for its CEO position and allowing CEO Brian Cornell to
stay on for three more years.

Energy stocks declined sharply as US crude oil prices fell
4.2%. Valero Energy slipped 2.1%.

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Bond yields slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury,
which helps determine interest rates on mortgages and other loans, slipped to
3.30% from 3.34% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to
follow expectations for Federal Reserve policy, fell to 3.47% from 3.51%.

Investors remained focused on inflation and the Fed’s
action to control high prices by increasing interest rates. The central bank
has already raised interest rates four times this year. Markets expect another
sharp hike of 0.75 percentage points at the next Fed meeting in two weeks.

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The Fed has made it clear that it intends to keep
increasing interest rates until it is sure that inflation is easing. Investors
have been closely monitoring economic data to determine whether price increases
on everything from food to clothing and gas are easing. They are also closely
watching for any clues about potential changes in policy from Fed officials.

Stock markets in Europe and Asia ended mostly lower.

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According to China’s customs data, trade weakened in August
as high energy prices, record inflation, and anti-virus measures impacted
global and Chinese consumer demand, and imports of Russian oil and gas surged.
Exports increased 7% over a year ago, falling from July’s 18% expansion, while
imports contracted by 0.2% against the previous month’s already weak 2.3%
growth.