A "substantial majority" of policymakers agreed it would "likely soon be appropriate" to slow the pace of interest rate hikes, the minutes showed. Since the Fed's last meeting on Nov. 1-2, investors have been more optimistic that price pressures have started to ease, meaning smaller rate hikes could curtail inflation. Heavyweight stocks, including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), rose 1.00% and 0.72%, respectively. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.97-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.61-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 97 new highs and 126 new lows.

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