US stocks ended slightly higher today as investors awaited more clues from the Federal Reserve on whether the central bank will soon begin to wind down its economic stimulus.
Investors will look for whether the strong November jobs report will be enough for the Fed to slow its stimulus. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will hold its final meeting of 2013 on December 17-18.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 5.33 points, or 0.03 percent, at 16,025.53. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 3.28 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,808.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.23 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,068.75.
European shares inched higher today, kept buoyant by better-than-forecast export data from China, while concerns over the withdrawal of the US Federal Reserve’s stimulus prevented investors from making big bets on the market.
Data over the weekend showed China’s exports beat forecasts in November with a 12.7 percent rise, adding to signs of stabilisation in the world’s second-biggest economy.
The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.1 percent at 1,271.22 points by 0843 GMT, having gained 0.7 percent on Friday. The euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50, which rose 0.9 percent on Friday, firmed 0.1 percent to 2,982.23 points.
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