Stocks on Wall Street mostly rose and the US dollar retreated on Wednesday, on hopes for further US interest rate cuts and a solid set of company earnings.

Gold surged to a new high above US$4,200 an ounce.

The dollar was weighed down by warnings on Tuesday from US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell on risks to the US labour market, reinforcing expectations the central bank will cut rates at its October meeting.

"There was nothing in yesterday's speech to kind of dissuade the market from thinking those rate cuts are coming, and so that was deemed a positive component," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Wall Street stocks spent most of the day in positive territory. The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent, to 6,671, while the Nasdaq put on 0.7 percent, to 22,670. The Dow Jones, meanwhile, fell less than 1 percent, to 46,253.

Morgan Stanley's shares jumped 4.7 percent to a record high, while Bank of America rose 4.4 percent after the top lenders beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit

On Wednesday, the Fed's "Beige Book" survey of conditions around the United States also pointed to job market deterioration, with most districts reporting a greater number of firms lowering employment.

Sentiment in the tech sector was lifted by Dutch tech giant ASML reporting solid sales and orders for its semiconductor machines. (AFP/Reuters)