Stocks Ended Sharply Higher after Powell Speech

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging more than 600 points, as investors interpreted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on interest rates as dovish. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 617.70 points, or 2.50%, to 25,366.43. The S&P 500 advanced 61.61 points, or 2.30%, to 2,743.78. The Nasdaq Composite gained 208.89 points, or 2.95%, to 7,291.59.

Oil futures dropped Wednesday to settle at their lowest in more than a year, sending U.S. prices sliding toward $50 a barrel on the back of a 10th straight weekly rise in U.S. crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery lost $1.27, or 2.5%, to settle at $50.29 a barrel. January Brent crude declined $1.45, or 2.4%, to $58.76 a barrel.

“Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy — that is, neither speeding up nor slowing down growth,” said Powell during a speech at the Economic Club of New York.

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