Energy expert Phil Flynn and Seaport Securities’ Teddy Weisberg analyze market reaction to Fed Powell’s address.
U.S. stock indexes continued higher Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s plans for tapering its asset purchase and raising interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230 points, or 0.67%, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.49% and 0.44%, respectively.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 34630.01 | +371.69 | +1.08% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4432.28 | +36.64 | +0.83% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14983.50179 | +86.65 | +0.58% |
The gains come after all three of the major averages jumped about 1% after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday indicated the central bank could begin tapering later this year and raising rates in 2022.
Talk of tapering and interest rate hikes caused investors to sell Treasurys with the yield on the 10-year note rising 6 basis points to 1.36%.
In stocks, financials, including Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., were in focus as the yield curve steepened following signals from the Fed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAC | BANK OF AMERICA CORP. | 40.88 | +0.74 | +1.86% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. | 388.80 | +3.57 | +0.93% |
Elsewhere, semiconductors Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Nvidia Corp. gained after the White House said it was looking into ways to solve the chip shortage that is impacting automakers.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD | ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. | 104.55 | +0.17 | +0.16% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORP. | 220.00 | +0.58 | +0.27% |
In earnings, Darden Restaurants Inc. reported quarterly profit and revenue that exceeded Wall Street forecasts as same-restaurant sales surged 47.5%. The company’s board of directors authorized a new $750 million share buyback program.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRI | DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC. | 159.94 | +9.68 | +6.44% |
| ACN | ACCENTURE PLC | 340.33 | +5.81 | +1.74% |
Consulting firm Accenture plc posted in-line revenue and raised its sales forecast for the current quarter due to strong demand for its cloud and security services.
Costco Wholesale Corp. and Nike Inc. are set to release their quarterly results after the closing bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 453.26 | +0.93 | +0.21% |
| NKE | NIKE, INC. | 159.73 | +2.19 | +1.39% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged up 15 cents to $72.38 a barrel and gold fell $20.60 to $1,758.20 an ounce.
Overseas markets were higher.
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In Europe, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.63% and 0.61%, respectively. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% after the Bank of England kept policy on hold and downgraded its growth forecast.
Asian bourses were higher with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai Composite rallying 0.38% and 1.19%, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed for holiday.
