By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGAWall Street closed out a solid November with a broad market rally Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said the central bank could soon begin easing up on its aggressive interest rate increases aimed at taming inflation.
Stocks roared higher following Powell’s midafternoon remarks. The S&P 500 rose 3.1%, snapping a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.2% and the Nasdaq composite climbed 4.4%. While citing some recent signs that inflation is cooling, Powell stressed that the Fed will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period to ensure inflation comes down sufficiently.
Major indexes have been unsteady as the economy and financial markets deal with stubbornly hot inflation and the Fed’s attempt to cool high prices with aggressive interest rate increases. In his remarks Wednesday, Powell said the Fed may increase its key interest rate by a smaller increment at its December meeting, only a half-point, after four straight three-quarter point hikes.Investors welcomed the prospect of more modest rate hikes.
The Dow climbed 737.24 points to close at 34,589.77, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 484.22 points to 11,468.Markets in Asia and Europe closed mostly higher. U.S. crude oil prices climbed 3%.
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