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Wall Street ends sharply higher, Powell assuages rate worries

Published 03/02/2022, 07:17 AM
Updated 03/02/2022, 07:31 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, where markets roiled after Russia continues to attack Ukraine, in New York, U.S., February 24, 2022.   REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, where markets roiled after Russia continues to attack Ukraine, in New York, U.S., February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

By Devik Jain and Noel Randewich

(Reuters) - Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank would likely raise interest rates less than some investors had feared.

Powell's comments, in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, helped calm investors after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent markets into a tailspin.

Powell said he is inclined to support a 25 basis point rate hike in March, quelling some concerns about the potential for a more aggressive rate hike.

Traders now see a 95% probability of a 25 basis point hike in March. [IRPR]

All the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes advanced, with financials jumping 2.6% after falling sharply so far this week. The banks index rebounded 3% after hitting its lowest level since September 2021 in the previous session.

Energy shares resumed their march higher, with the S&P 500 energy index rallying 2.2% as Brent crude jumped to near eight-year highs after Western sanctions disrupted transport of commodities exported by Russia.

Russia's week-old invasion has yet to achieve its aim of overthrowing Ukraine's government. Ukrainians said they were battling on in the port of Kherson, the first sizeable city Russia claimed to have seized, while air strikes and bombardment caused further devastation in other cities.

"From day to day you go from the fear of escalation that could make things very bad to the hope that it will not really happen and that cooler heads will prevail, and that the economy is strong enough to get through this," said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) ended 2.1% higher after announcing a product launch for March 8, when it is expected to promote a low-cost version of its popular iPhone with 5G.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.79% to end at 33,891.35 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.86% to 4,386.54.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.62% to 13,752.02.

Reflecting the breadth of Wednesday's rally, the S&P 500 value index climbed 1.9% and the growth index added 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.4%, lifted by an 8.2% jump in Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU).

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 13.1 billion shares, compared with a 12.4 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Data showed U.S. private employers hired more workers than expected in February as the labor market recovery gathered steam.

Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) surged 38% after the department store chain forecast upbeat full-year revenue and profit.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, where markets roiled after Russia continues to attack Ukraine, in New York, U.S., February 24, 2022.   REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.60-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.95-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 51 new highs and 123 new lows.

Latest comments

watching yesterday's relentless rise was fun. low volume breaking every intraday pattern attacking the ma's. I walked away for a few minutes to do something and came back to see 250 point rise. then it still cranked up. love it. I never got my limit order unfortunately. today let's see if we try for 35000 lol
hallo farinds
lol what a complete joke
Venezuela here we come.
Another uninhibited tightrope walk for the biggest investment JOKE in the world.  How many points will it plunge "in late trade," the same way losses are whisked away in the final hour?  Or, is only "buying" allowed after 3PM in the laughingstock of the investing world?
another one who cries manipulation for market mechanics they don't understand. lots of ETF/MF rebalnces towards end of every trading sessions. you should read more and follow conspiracy theories less
Rebalance in the off hours.
biden and powell will be disaster for usa fainally
No worst than Trumputin
Yipppeee all is good going to the moon!!!
Yep all this good. Inflation is going higher and higher, and all the way to the moon
lesson learnt. trade opposite when markets are manipulated
Lol
Lol…
Dont trade what u thinknu know. Trafe what you dont know!
Wall street lives in a parallel universe. We're at a brink of nuclear holocaust and SPX is up 2% lol
please this will end and Biden will see approval rating soar similar to George H W Bush after end of Gulf war in 1991
wall street rallies because of the object immediately to your left
my heart 💖
might wanna get that checked out
we are all doomed now.. FED has plunged us into hyperinflationary environment... Welcome to the Start of your DEPRESSION.
How the heck are rate hikes good for markets? Even a 0.5% increase is a huge risks for market implosion
mkt juz needs to bounce after so many days of selling . even how negative the news is .
The Feds mandate concerns price stability and employment. So, whether their policies are bad for the market should not be a priority.
 Right so why don't the headlines just say that instead of lying to investors. Plus endless money printing does not promote market/price stability...it creates inflation...the massive problem we have now!!
Another criminal miracle for the biggest investment JOKE in history, as another major loss is completely reversed the day after it occurs.  Magically, "investors" have "shrugged off" every macro economic issue that exists, including war, to load up on the most grossly overvalued stocks in the modern age.  Assume the proper position America, the US Ponzi Scheme is back to DEFRAUDING the US working class in broad daylight.
biden barks well 🤣🤣😂
hahaha
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