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The S&P 500 rose in choppy trading after the Federal Reserve signaled that the risks for an economic slowdown and higher prices are increasing.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 284.97 points to 41,113.97.
The broader index recovered 24.36 points to 5,631.27.
The NASDAQ Composite regained 48.5 points to 17,738.16.
As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee held its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 4.25% to 4.5%, where it has been since December.
Wednesday’s announcement coincides with increasing worries that a global trade war could send prices higher, complicate the central bank’s path toward bringing inflation down to its 2% goal.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his post-decision press conference that if the “large increases in tariffs” that have been announced remain at their current levels, they could lead to a slowdown in economic growth, an uptick in long-term inflation and an increase in unemployment.
Stocks got a boost on news that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade official Jamieson Greer would meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland. Investors took that as a positive on the trade front after the turbulent market action following President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement last month.
A report from Bloomberg on Wednesday that the Trump administration plans to rescind Biden-era AI chip restrictions helped Nvidia shares rise about 2%.
Also pressuring the market were declines in Alphabet which sank about 8% and Apple, which dropped about 1.5%, after Apple’s services chief said the company is looking to add artificial intelligence services as search options in
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.28% from Wednesday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices backpedaled $1.03 to $58.06 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold backed off $42.70 to $3,380.10 U.S.