Stock markets were about to stage Friday's comeback after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy was still in a good place.
The Dow rose 280 points (0.7%). The S&P 500 increased by 0.7%. Nasdaq composites increased by 0.8%.
All three indices won Steam as Powell spoke at the 2025 US Policy Forum in New York City.
That said, Wall Street spent most of its session selling to signs of strength in the main index.
“Despite rising levels of uncertainty, the US economy remains in a good place,” Powell said in a prepared statement. “The labor market is solid and inflation is approaching its long-term target of 2%.”
He said the authorities are paying attention to the impact of policies enacted by the White House, including trade, immigration, fiscal policy and regulations.
“What's important for the economic and monetary policy path is the net effect of these policy changes,” Powell said. “As Outlook evolves as we analyze incoming information, we focus on isolating the signal from the noise. We don't have to hurry, we're in a good position to wait for it to become clearer.”
