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- US stocks jumped Friday despite Jerome Powell’s attempt to dampen rate-cut hopes.
- The Fed chair said it would be “premature” to guess when policy might ease.
US stocks rose on Friday, building on last month’s monster rally, despite Jerome Powell’s attempt to dampen rate-cut hopes.
At Spelman College in Atlanta, the Federal Reserve chief said it would be “premature” to guess when policy might ease. That comes after Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Tuesday appeared to inch closer toward the prospect of rate cuts.
And while Powell added that higher rates are still possible, he also acknowledged policy is “well into restrictive territory,” suggesting the Fed’s tightening cycle is over. Bond yields tumbled after the remarks.
“Jerome Powell’s ostensibly hawkish message to financial markets today appears to be taken in stride as the major indexes remain in positive territory,” Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial, said in a note on Friday.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET closing bell on Friday:
Here’s what else happened today:
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.04% to $74.40 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, shed 2.14% to $79.13.
- Gold inched 1.42% higher to $2,067.10 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped by 12.6 basis points to 4.228%.
- Bitcoin was up 2.60% to $38,748.
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