Wall Street’s major indexes had lost ground immediately after the Fed announced its rate hike decision. Its statement also said “ongoing increases” to rates would be appropriate.
Reuters
February 02, 2023 / 06:04 AM IST
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed sharply higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease, in remarks he made following a quarter-point rate hike by the U.S. central bank.
Wall Street’s major indexes had lost ground immediately after the Fed announced its rate hike decision. Its statement also said “ongoing increases” to rates would be appropriate.
But the indexes bounced off their lows and kept gaining ground soon after Powell started speaking to reporters with the S&P ending up 1% and the Nasdaq adding 2%.
Investors were encouraged by Powell’s answer to a question about easing financial conditions such as rising equities and falling bond yields in recent months, according to Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones, St Louis.
`); } if (res.stay_updated) { $ (“.stay-updated-ajax”).html(res.stay_updated); } } catch (error) { console.log(‘Error in video’, error); } } }) }, 8000); })
