Topics Wall Street | Nasdaq | US Federal Reserve

Reuters  Last Updated at June 15, 2022 20:06 IST

Wall Street's main indexes climbed more than 1% on Wednesday, boosted by gains in beaten-down growth and financial stocks, with investors waiting to see how high the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its policy meeting to quell inflation.

Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced in early trading, with nine of them up more than 1%. Leading the pack were consumer discretionary and financials, which rose 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively. The energy sector was the lone decliner, dropping 0.5%.

Market heavyweights Apple Inc, Meta Platforms , Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc added between 1.3% and 2.5%.

Traders are almost fully pricing in a 75 basis point hike from the Fed, up from 8.2% a week ago, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Such a big hike would lift the Fed's short-term target policy rate to a range of 1.5% and 1.75%.

The central bank will release its statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), with a press briefing by Fed Chair Jerome Powell expected at 2:30 p.m. ET.

"The Fed is going to go 75 basis points and attempt to talk very hawkish to try to regain control of the narrative, and when it's all over, investors will breathe a sigh of relief," said Zach Hill, head of portfolio strategy at Horizon Investments.

"But the medium-term (market) outlook is the Fed wanting to tighten financial conditions and so that means lower equity valuations."

Worries about surging inflation, higher borrowing costs and rising challenges to economic growth have walloped global equities this year.

The benchmark S&P 500 index on Monday marked a more than 20% decline from its record closing high on Jan. 3, confirming it has been in a bear market, according to a commonly used definition.

Data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.3% in May as motor vehicle purchases declined amid shortages, and record high gasoline prices pulled spending away from other goods.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales gaining 0.2% last month.

At 9:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 315.84 points, or 1.04%, at 30,680.67, the S&P 500 was up 48.12 points, or 1.29%, at 3,783.60, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 179.38 points, or 1.66%, at 11,007.73.

Goldman Sachs rose 2.4% to lead gains among the big banks.

Nucor Corp jumped 4.6% after it forecast upbeat current-quarter profit on strong steel demand.

Boeing Co surged 4.7% after China Southern Airlines Co Ltd this week conducted test flights with a 737 MAX plane for the first time since March, in a sign the jet's return in China could be nearing as demand rebounds.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.79-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.81-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded one new 52-week highs and 30 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded seven new highs and 77 new lows.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard . Digital Editor

Copyrights © 2022 Business Standard Private Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Standard is happy to inform you of the launch of "Business Standard Premium Services"

As a premium subscriber you get an across device unfettered access to a range of services which include:

Welcome to the premium services of Business Standard brought to you courtesy FIS. Kindly visit the Manage my subscription page to discover the benefits of this programme. Enjoy Reading! Team Business Standard