Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed higher Wednesday as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting bolstered expectations for a rate cut next month, overshadowing concerns about the economy following softer labor market data.

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.6%.

Fed members give clearest signal yet of September cut

The "vast majority" of Federal Reserve policymakers signaled that it may be appropriate to begin cutting rates next month should the recent progress on inflation continue, the minutes of the Fed's July meeting showed on Wednesday.

"The vast majority observed that, if the data continued to come in about as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting.," the minutes of Fed's July meeting showed.

About 63% of traders expect the Fed to deliver a rate cut next month, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

The minutes arrived just days ahead of Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the economic symposium at Jackson Hole on Friday.

Payrolls revised sharply lower

Investors gained in confidence Wednesday after data showed that the U.S. economy added significantly fewer jobs than first reported during the past year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down March 2024’s employment gains by 818,000 positions earlier in the session, as part of the agency’s annual benchmark review of payroll data.

Markets are trading in a cautious manner as investors look for clues over the Federal Reserve's intention at its next policy-meeting in September.

The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics over potential revisions to the recent nonfarm payrolls data is due later in th session, and most economists expect a downwards revision.

Goldman Sachs forecast that 600,000 to 1 million fewer jobs were created from April 2023 to March 2024 than previously reported, although the influential investment bank stated that the likely downward revision "will exaggerate the degree to which payroll growth has been overstated."

Target , Keysight technologies shine, but Macy's, La-Z-Boy slump on earnings stage

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) stock rose 11% after the big box retailer raised its annual profit forecast and beat expectations for second-quarter comparable sales, with customers drawn in by low priced groceries and essentials.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) stock, by contrast, fell 13% after the department store chain missed market expectations for quarterly revenue as lingering weakness in U.S. consumer spending hurt demand for big-ticket, non-essential goods.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) stock surged 13% after its earnings beat estimates and the company talked up expectations for a "gradual recovery" in 2025.

Furniture maker La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) stock dropped 3% as a weaker-than-expected guidance largely offset strong earnings.

JD.com falls on Walmart plans to sell stake; Ford scales back EV plan

Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) stock slid over 4% after Bloomberg reported that Walmart (NYSE:WMT) planned to sell its stake in the firm for about $3.7 billion.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) gained more than 1% after scrapping its planned three-row electric SUV and delaying the roll out of a new F-150 as the automaker deals with softer demand.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

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