Shares of industrial and transportation companies climbed as investors shook off concerns over property developer China Evergrande Group and shifted their focus to the Federal Reserve, which signaled that it could begin to reduce its bond purchases soon and raise interest rates as early as next year.

In corporate news, FedEx shares fell nearly 9% after the delivery giant spent an additional $450 million due to problems attracting workers in its latest quarter, contributing to an 11% drop in profit.

Meanwhile, Airbus said its order book is strong enough to assure production will continue to grow as previously guided and could be raised further.

President Biden summoned Democratic leaders and key centrist and progressive lawmakers to the White House, working to build bridges between competing factions and get his multitrillion-dollar legislative agenda back on track. The party is seeking to move forward with a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure proposal in the House and a broader $3.5 trillion budget package that together encapsulate much of the first-year president's agenda.


 Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-22-21 1723ET