Friends
Market participants were waiting with bated breath for the Fed release and the Chairman’s press conference and were not disappointed. The Fed Chair again made it clear that despite inflation worries and an economy that is sure to heat up in the second half of the year, the Federal Reserve will remain accommodative until the coast is all clear, and then some.
Stocks had been loitering for much of the trading session but got some life after the Fed announcement. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 189 points to close at 33,015. The S&P 500 was up 11 points to finish the day at 3,974. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 53 points to close at 13,525. Gold was up $12 to trade at $1,742 per ounce, while oil was down $.16 to trade at $64.64 per barrel WTI.
The yield on the long bond continued to rise this morning, which in early trading sent the Nasdaq substantially lower. But, given the dovishness of the Fed Chairman today, those beleaguered growth stocks reversed course and closed up nicely. Just when traders were beginning to worry that the Fed may cave to inflation pressures, the Chairman steps up to save the day – once again.
Have a nice evening everyone.
