By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica

S&P 500 on track for seventh gain of past eight sessions

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, in a partial rebound from the previous session's decline as fears ebbed that the upcoming release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting would point to a more hawkish stance by the central bank.

Read more:5 things to watch in the Fed minutes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-things-to-watch-in-the-fed-minutes-2018-02-20)

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100 points, or 0.4%, to 25,061. The S&P 500 rose 14 points to 2,730, a gain of 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 53 points, or 0.7%, to 7,288.

Recent trading has been volatile, with equities posting sharp swings in both directions. Stocks tumbled on Tuesday, putting an end to a six-day rally for the Dow and S&P, although the major indexes were coming off their biggest one-week percentage gain in years last week.

Both the Dow and the S&P are on track for their seventh positive session of the past eight.

What could drive markets?

The Fed minutes are scheduled for release at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Dow industrials are down 4.2% for the month, thanks in part to signs of an uptick in inflation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-this-investment-pro-thinks-wall-streets-inflation-fears-are-overblown-2018-02-13) and bets the U.S. central bank won't delay in raising interest rates further. Higher rates can lure money out of equities. Much of the recent gyrations have come on concerns that inflation could be returning to markets, which could lead the Fed to become more aggressive in combating such a scenario.

See:Higher inflation, tax-and-spend boom has investors looking for Fed clues (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/higher-inflation-trump-tax-and-spend-boom-leave-investors-looking-for-fed-clues-2018-02-17)

What are strategists saying?

"The minutes will certainly be the highlight of the week given the interest-rate debate that's playing out across all asset classes, but investors aren't expecting much of a surprise. We had overreacted to the idea of inflation, and now investors are focusing on the growth scenario, which is very much intact," said Peter Kenny, senior market strategist at Global Markets Advisory Group.

"Inflation isn't running ahead of the Fed's target, and the Fed is being very transparent about what it is seeing and how it will expect to react to it, so until we see the next round of data that gives us a close look at where inflation is, I think markets will further stabilize."

What data and speakers are driving trading?

An index that tracks U.S. manufacturers rose to a nearly 3 1/2-year high in February (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-businesses-grow-rapidly-at-start-of-2018-ihs-markit-finds-2018-02-21) and a gauge for service-oriented companies hit a six-month peak, according to IHS Markit's flash PMI.

Separately, existing-home sales fell 3.2% in January.

In an interview on Bloomberg Television, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he has "hope" that inflation is picking up (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-cant-make-policy-on-market-blips-kashkari-says-2018-02-21), and that the U.S. central bank "can't make policy based on market blips, up and down."

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

Which stocks are in focus?

The day's gains were broad, with seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors higher on the day. Leading the advance was industrials, which rose 1%. Airline stocks were among the sector's biggest gainers; Alaska Air Group(ALK) rose 3.1%, while American Airlines Group (AAL) was up 2.6%.

Separately, material stocks rose 0.8% while the consumer discretionary industry was up 0.7%.

Shares in Walmart Inc.(WMT)fell 2.7%, extending a sharp selloff on Tuesday that represented its largest one-day percentage drop in 30 years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walmarts-stock-is-on-track-for-its-worst-point-drop-in-its-history-as-a-publicly-traded-entity-2018-02-20). The results came in the wake of the retail king's quarterly earnings report; analysts worried about a slowdown in online sales and pressure on profit margins (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walmart-execs-grilled-on-disappointing-online-growth-on-earnings-call-2018-02-20).

Walmart bucked the trend of generally strong quarterly results this quarter; Goldman Sachs referred to the current seas as "one of the strongest earnings seasons on record."

Read more:The stock market is ignoring 'one of the strongest earnings seasons on record' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-fears-have-stock-market-investors-ignoring-one-of-the-strongest-earnings-seasons-on-record-2018-02-21)

Owens Corning (OC) fell 4.4% despite reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/owens-corning-earnings-beat-on-insulation-sales-2018-02-21).

Pay-TV giant Dish Network Corp.(DISH) lost 2.5% after it reported a drop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dish-earnings-buoyed-by-12-billion-tax-benefit-2018-02-21) in its fourth-quarter revenue.

Devon Energy Corp.(DVN) sank 8.4% after it reported fourth-quarter results that missed expectations and gave a downbeat outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/devon-energy-shares-slide-6-after-earnings-miss-disappointing-guidance-2018-02-21).

Foot Locker Inc.'s stock (FL)rose 1.8% after the retailer late Tuesday announced a hike in its dividend and a spending plan focused on online initiatives (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/foot-locker-raises-dividend-cuts-yearly-capital-plan-to-focus-on-online-sales-2018-02-20).

Shares in LendingClub Corp.(LC)tumbled 6% after the lender late Tuesday posted quarterly results that missed expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lendingclub-shares-fall-after-quarterly-earnings-miss-2018-02-20).

How are other assets performing?

European stocks were losing ground, while Asian markets mostly closed higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-get-off-to-shaky-start-after-down-day-on-wall-street-2018-02-20).

Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-prices-slip-further-ahead-of-us-supply-data-2018-02-21)dropped as traders waited for a report on U.S. supplies. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index edged higher, and gold futures were little changed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was around 2.88%, down from 2.895% late Tuesday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 13:31 ET (18:31 GMT)

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