US stocks close higher after Fed minutes

US stocks ended higher on Aug. 21, after the US Federal Reserve revealed its latest monetary policy meeting minutes that indicated the central bank could cut interest rates in September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, or 0.15%, to 40,890 points, after it touched the 40,738 level. The S&P 500 added 23 points, or 0.4%, to 5,620 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 102 points, or 0.55%, to 17,918 points.

As for the European indices, STOXX Europe 600 inched up 0.35%, to 513.9 points.

FTSE 100 advanced 0.1% to 8,283 points, while DAX 40 increased 0.5% to 18,448 points, and CAC 40 gained 0.5% to 7,524 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3%, or 111 points, to 37,951 points, while TOPIX decreased by 0.2% to 2,664 points.

In the oil market, futures contracts for Brent crude for October delivery fell by 1.5%, or $1.15, to $76.05/bbl.

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for October delivery slumped by 1.7%, or $1.24, to $71.93 per barrel.

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for December delivery inched down by 0.1%, or $3.1, to $2,547 per ounce.

Minutes of the US central bank's July meeting showed some policymakers would have been willing to reduce borrowing costs at last month's meeting. They indicated that markets are fully pricing in a September cut.