US: Stocks rally again as traders hope for late-year gains
WALL Street stocks powered higher on Thursday, extending a rally following the latest Federal Reserve meeting as traders hope for a year-end upswing.
Major indices added handsomely to Wednesday’s advance after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments suggested to some that the central bank is done hiking rates for the foreseeable future.
“Powell hinted that the Fed was nearing end of its rate tightening cycle,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. “He didn’t say it directly but he hinted and the fact that he hinted was enough for the market to rally.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average piled on nearly 565 points, or 1.7 per cent to finish at 33,839.08.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.9 per cent to 4,317.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.8 per cent to 13,294.19.
Analysts said stocks have been primed for a bounce after selling off in recent weeks. The November and December period is also known as a seasonally good stretch of the calendar.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note pulled back further, reflecting not only easing expectations about future Fed hikes but a Treasury Department borrowing plan that did not significantly exceed expectations.
Among individual companies, Starbucks shares surged nearly 10 per cent after it reported a 12 per cent jump in quarterly revenues to US$6.9 billion after opening 816 new stores in the period.
Beyond Meat jumped 18.4 per cent as it lowered its forecast due to “demand softness” in plant-based meat. The company announced cost-cutting measures, including eliminating 19 per cent of its non-production workforce. AFP
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