World markets today: US stocks rise after Jerome Powell’s remarks

“If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year,” Powell said in remarks. “But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured.”

At 9:31 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 243.71 points, or 0.63 per cent, at 38,828.90, the S&P 500 was up 36.33 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 5,114.98, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 158.53 points, or 0.99 per cent, at 16,098.12. 

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 135.96 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 38,721.15. The S&P 500 opened higher by 29.38 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 5,108.03, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 152.41 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 16,092.00. 

Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings rallied 18.8 per cent after the company forecast annual results above Wall Street estimates.

Shares of chipmaker Nvidia gained 1.9 per cent, Amazon rose 0.8 per cent, and Meta added 1.8 per cent.

Cryptocurrency  stocks such as Coinbase Global and MicroStrategy gained 5.7 per cent and 10.9 per cent, respectively, as bitcoin rebounded.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.11 per cent from 4.14 per cent late on Tuesday. 

European stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday. 

Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 per cent at 7,668.76 points. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 per cent at 7,940.17. Germany’s DAX added 0.1 per cent at 17,708.55.

Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.4 per cent at 4,910.49.

In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.7 per cent at 16,438.09. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 per cent at 3,039.93.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 40,090.78.

Oil rose after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly increased prices of its main grade to buyers in Asia.

Brent traded above $82 a barrel after dropping almost 2 per cent in the week’s first two sessions. 

Gold prices gained on Wednesday to trade near previous session’s record highs.

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent to $2,132.80 per ounce, as of 1249 GMT after hitting a historic high of $2,141.59 per ounce in the prior session. US gold futures were steady at $2,141.60.

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Published: 06 Mar 2024, 08:14 PM IST