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Constellation Brands ( STZ ) jumps after Berkshire discloses stake

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Intel ( INTC ) up after report Broadcom ( AVGO ), TSMC eye deals to split it

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Fed's January meeting minutes due on Wednesday

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) -

Wall Street on Tuesday closed with a record high at the top

of a holiday-shortened week, with earnings season winding down

U.S. Federal Reserve minutes in the wings and geopolitical

uncertainties churning in the background.

The three major stock indexes wobbled between red and

green for much of the session.

"There's a little bit of a three-day weekend hangover

today," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson

Group in Omaha. "There's just truly not a lot going on, which

kind of a nice change as we simply consolidate right beneath

potential new all-time highs."

"At the same time we have the Fed minutes, coming out

tomorrow and big retail earnings also coming out later this

week," Detrick added. "But when you put it all together, you

have a day like today where it's just kind of 'wait-and-see.'"

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to

release the minutes of its January policy meeting, at which the

voting members elected to let interest rates stand amid signs of

an inflation rebound and the unknown extent and effects of

President Trump's threatened tariffs.

Remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers largely

adhered to the same script, with Philadelphia Fed President

Patrick Harker, Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller

saying they believe economic strength and elevated inflation

warrant holding the policy rate steady for the time being.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly reiterated that a

pause in rate cuts is appropriate until more visible progress is

made toward bringing inflation down to the Fed's 2% goal.

The minutes will be scrutinized for clues regarding the

central bank's path forward, particularly in light of recent

data, which shows price growth gaining momentum, falling

consumer sentiment and weaker-than-expected retail sales.

"The Fed is being reasonably transparent here," said Chuck

Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services

in Hammond, Indiana. "There's been evidence that the economy is

slowing down a little bit and I'm sure they're watching that.

But I don't think they feel significant pressure, at least at

this point, to drop rates anytime soon."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 14.99 points, or 0.25%, to end at 6,129.49 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 14.15 points, or

0.07%, to 20,040.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 6.79 points, or 0.02%, to 44,556.34.

Fourth-quarter earnings season has come around the final

bend, with 383 companies in the S&P 500 having reported as of

Friday. Of those, 74% have posted better-than-expected results,

according to LSEG data.

Analysts currently see fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings

growth of 15.3% year-on-year, up from the 9.6% estimate as it

stood on Jan. 1.

Intel ( INTC ) advanced after a report over the weekend said

rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ( TSM ) and

Broadcom ( AVGO ) were considering potential deals that could

split the chipmaker in two.

Constellation Brands ( STZ ) jumped after Warren Buffett's

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) disclosed a new investment in the

company on Friday.

Meta Platforms ( META ) lost ground, snapping its 20-session

winning streak.