Stocks Surged at Open as Fed Fueled Rally

U.S. stocks surged at open on Thursday, after Federal Reserve officials signaled they would be willing to ease monetary policy to help prop up the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately jumped 234.79 points, or 0.89%, to 26,738.79. The S&P 500 rose 27.01 points, or 0.92%, to 2,953.47. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 88.91 points, or 1.11%, to 8,076.23.

Oil prices surged Thursday, rising in step with other perceived riskier assets following hints that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in the coming months. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for August rose $1.53, or nearly 2.8%, to $55.50 a barrel, while the July contract rose $1.52, or 2.8%, to $55.28 a barrel.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday strongly implied that the central bank would cut benchmark interest rates, currently at a range of 2.25%-2.50%, in the coming weeks if the economic outlook buffeted by U.S.-China trade tensions doesn’t show signs of improvement.

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in mid-June fell to a one-month low and clung near the lowest level in decades, a sign the labor market remains robust even after a slowdown in hiring and softer economic growth. Initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, fell by 6,000 to 216,000 in the seven days ended June 15, the government said Thursday.

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