Indexes end higher in volatile trade as investors assess Powell speech

US stocks ended a volatile session on Friday as investors absorbed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that the US central bank may need to raise interest rates further to ensure curb inflation.
Powell also acknowledged that price pressures have eased during his highly anticipated morning speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The major US indexes, which started the day with strong gains, have alternated between extending and reducing that gain for most of the session.
Michael “proves that he is satisfied with the path monetary policy has taken and the way inflation has been brought down. But he remains firmly committed to the view that they are monitoring the situation closely and that they still have work to do.” do,” Michael said. Aaron. , chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston. All major S&P 500 sectors rose, with consumer staples, technology and energy the main gainers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 247.48 points, or 0.73%, to 34,346.9, the S&P 500 added 29.4 points, or 0.67%, to 4,405.71 and the Nasdaq Composite added more. 126.67 points, or 0.94%, to 13,590.65.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also ended the week higher, with the Nasdaq gaining about 2.3%, ending a three-week losing streak. Markets rallied ahead of Nvidia’s second-quarter results on Wednesday.
The company, which makes chips designed for artificial intelligence tasks, made another optimistic forecast in its report. Following Powell’s comments on Friday, expectations for a rate hike in November rose from the previous day, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Most traders still expect the Fed to delay a rate hike in September.
On the retail front, shares of Gap rose 7.2% after the company beat second-quarter profit estimates, while Nordstrom fell 7.7% after the department store chain left its forecast unchanged.
Shares of Hostess Brands rose 21.7 percent after Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that snack maker Twinkies was considering a sale.
Shares of Marvell Technology fell 6.6% after the chipmaker posted a drop in second-quarter revenue. Hawaiian Electric Industries, which is under scrutiny for its possible role in the Hawaiian wildfires, fell 18.5 percent after the County of Maui brought the power company to justice.
Trading volume on US exchanges was 9.15 billion shares, compared with an average of 10.82 billion shares over the course of the past 20 trading days.
The bullish issues outperformed the bearish issues on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.51 to 1; on Nasdaq, the progressive approval ratio is 1.24 to 1.
S&P 500 hits 6 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows; Nasdaq Composite recorded 23 new highs and 202 new lows.