US STOCKS-S&P 500 edges to record closing high as Fed minutes parsed

Updates to market close

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday and the S&P 500 notched its second straight all-time closing high as investors scrutinized the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting and digested the latest tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the Fed's January policy meeting, the U.S. central bank left its key interest rate unchanged. The minutes show policymakers expressed concern about stubborn inflation and the potential effect of Trump's policy proposals, particularly tariffs, on their efforts to bring price growth down to their target.

"There was some discussion (in the minutes) that there may be some economic slowing ahead," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest in Elmhurst, Illinois. "Maybe that's giving investors some thought that the Fed could cut rates. It's still on the table."

"That said, (the Fed's) not willing to do anything until they get a little bit more clarity as to what the tariffs look like," Nolte added. "So from that perspective (it's) a wait and see."

Trump announced on Tuesday he would impose tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" on autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, the latest in a series of measures that have raised concerns over the consequences of a global trade war.

"I think people are starting to see it as a bargaining chip or bluster, more bark than bite," Nolte said.

The Commerce Department said housing starts tumbled by 9.8% in January, a plunge attributed to soft demand, elevated mortgage rates and a spate of unusually frigid weather.

Housing stocks .HGX were underperformers, dropping 2.1%.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.54 points, or 0.24%, to end at 6,144.12 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 14.99 points, or 0.07%, to 20,055.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 71.12 points, or 0.16%, to 44,627.46.

Fourth-quarter earnings season is approaching the finish line, and 74% of the S&P 500 constituents have posted better-than-expected results, according to LSEG.

Analysts now see fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 15.3% year-on-year, a significant improvement over the 9.6% estimate at the beginning of the year, according to LSEG.

Electric truck maker Nikola NKLA.O plunged in the wake of its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Specialty chemicals company Celanese CE.N tumbled after reporting a quarterly loss.

Shares of Shift4 FOUR.N slid following its fourth-quarter results and on news that the payments processor has agreed to buy Global Blue GB.N in a deal valued at $2.5 billion.

Shares of Global Blue surged.

Analog Devices ADI.O advanced after beating quarterly profit and revenue estimates.