Fed Official's Comments Lift Wall Street's Mood

Dow rises 341 points
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 2, 2023 3:25 PM CST
Fed Official's Comments Lifts Wall Street's Mood
A file photo of the New York Stock Exchange.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Stocks closed higher Thursday on Wall Street for the first time in three days, thanks in part to easing fears about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates.

  • The S&P 500 rose 29 points, or 0.7%, to 3,981.
  • The Dow rose 341 points, or 1%, to 33,003.
  • The Nasdaq rose XX points, or 0.7%, to 11,462.

Stocks immediately flipped from losses to gains after a Federal Reserve official made comments that raised hopes the central bank may not ramp up its fight against inflation as aggressively as feared, per the AP. Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, told reporters that for now he still supports lifting the Fed's key overnight rate up to a range of 5% to 5.25%, up from its current 4.50% to 4.75%. That's lower than a good chunk of investors on Wall Street are forecasting.

“That’s what gave the market a little hope, that there is a voice not saying to raise” forecasts for where the Fed will ultimately stop hiking rates, said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth, “because a lot of the other people who talk seem like they’re constantly saying, ‘Elevator Up.’” Shares of Salesforce soared 11.2% for one of the market's biggest gains after it topped forecasts for profit and revenue last quarter. It also gave a stronger-than-expected forecast for upcoming results. On the losing side was Telsa, which sank 6.4%. It said its next generation of vehicles will cost half as much but provided few details about its design in a presentation to investors.

(More stock market stories.)

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