US stock indexes gained on Thursday ahead of more comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
At 9:32 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 219.73 points, or 0.57 percent, at 38,880.78, the S&P 500 was up 32.08 points, or 0.63 percent, at 5,136.84, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 111.5 points, 111. or 0.70 percent, at 16,143.14.
On Wednesday, Powell said the Federal Reserve expects to cut interest rates later this year.
“If the economy develops broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin removing policy restraint at some point this year,” Powell said in remarks. “But the economic outlook is uncertain, and continued progress toward our 2% inflation target is not certain,” he said.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.25 points, or 0.32 percent, to 38,784.30. The S&P 500 opened higher by 27.62 points, or 0.54 percent, at 5,132.38, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 115.78 points, or 0.72 percent, to 16,147.32.
Shares of Nvidia rose 1.4 percent, Micron Technology gained 2.3 percent, American Eagle Outfitters soared 9.5 percent, Kroger rose 6.7 percent, and New York Community Bancorp was 12.4 percent higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.08 percent from 4.11 percent late Wednesday.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent at 7,695.30. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.7 percent at 8,012.50. Germany’s DAX added 0.5 percent at 17,802.76.
Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.9 percent at 4,959.09.
The European Central Bank kept its rates unchanged for a fourth straight meeting on Thursday and lowered its inflation forecast.
In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.3 percent at 16,229.78. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.4 percent at 3,027.40. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2 percent at 39,598.71.
Gold prices extended gains to reach an all-time high on Thursday after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell raised hopes for lower interest rates this year.
Spot gold gained 0.4 percent to $2,157.51 an ounce, as of 1003 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3 percent to $2,165.20.
Oil prices fell on Thursday after Powell’s remarks.
Brent crude futures slipped 42 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $82.54 a barrel by 1010 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 36 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $78.77 a barrel.
Unlock a world of Perks! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized news feed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Catch all Business News, Market News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Check out all the latest action on Budget 2024 here. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More or less
Published: 07 Mar 2024, 20:16 IST
(tagsTo Translate) Wall Street