Wall Street’s major stocks on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve eased investor fears by keeping borrowing costs unchanged and raising expectations that interest rates could be cut up to three times this year. The index closed at an all-time high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 401.37 points, or 1%, to a record high of 39,512.13. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% for the first time above 5,200, and the Nasdaq rose more than 200 points (1.2%).
The Federal Reserve’s policy statement explains inflation as follows: Still “high””, they updated their quarterly economic forecasts, predicting that this year’s growth rate will be 2.1%, compared to the December forecast of 1.4%, and that the year-end unemployment rate will be 4%, lower than the December forecast of 4.1%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a press conference that although recent inflation numbers were higher than expected, the numbers meant that “the overall picture hasn’t changed much. That is, inflation is rising gradually, albeit with some bumps.” The stock price rose further as a result of this statement. road. “
Strategists said Wall Street was reassured by Powell’s comments.
“He said he’s not trying to ignore any data, but he’s kind of given the market a reason to ignore the data,” said Alex Coffey, senior trading strategist at TD Ameritrade. Ta.
“We entered this day feeling like Jerome Powell might push back on market expectations or reverse course from the dovish outlook he’s had since December, given the data we’ve seen over the past two months,” Coffey said. ” he said. “He hasn’t necessarily gone completely dovish, but he has been dovish about recent market concerns.”
Most of the S&P’s 11 major sectors rose.
The medical sector was under pressure during the session, partly due to the impact of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers. BioNTech’s U.S.-listed shares fell after the company announced a sharp decline in sales and profits in 2023 as it shifted its focus to anti-cancer drug development.
Shares of coronavirus vaccine makers Moderna and Novavax both fell.
Boosting the consumer discretionary sector, Tesla rose after confirming to Reuters that it would raise the price of its Model Y cars made in China by 5,000 yuan ($694.55) starting April 1.
Equinix shares fell after Hindenburg Research announced it had taken a short position in the data center operator.
Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock price rose after the company announced that its board of directors has approved a 50-for-1 split of its common stock.
