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US stocks rebounded strongly to close higher on Wednesday, March 2, after the Ukraine-fuelled selloffs the day before as the Fed hinted at a 25-basis point hike in interest rates this month.
The clarity over Fed’s rate hike boosted investors’ sentiment.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday that he supports a 25 basis-point rate increase. He didn’t rule out a larger move at some point. Powell said the bank would be “prepared to move more aggressively” if inflation is “persistently high”.
The S&P 500 surged 1.86% to 4,386.54. The Dow Jones rose 1.79% to 33,891.35. The NASDAQ Composite rose 1.62% at 13,752.02, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was up 2.66% to 2,061.95.
On Tuesday, US crude traded above US$110 a barrel as refiners stopped purchasing Russian oil. Economists said a prolonged supply constraint could push US inflation higher.
All the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 closed in the positive territory on Wednesday. Energy, financials, and technology segments were the top gainers. The bottom movers were the communication services, consumer staples, and utility sectors.
The Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) stock gained nearly 37% in intraday trading after posting strong quarterly results in line with the expectations and robust earnings forecast for 2022.
The shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) rose more than 10.8% after it raised the earnings forecast for the year. Its revenue grew by 2% YoY in the first quarter.
The Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) stock grew over 2% after it announced to discontinuing operations and investments in Russia.
BP plc (BP) stock surged over 6% in intraday trading after it announced over the weekend to exit from its venture with the Russian government-controlled oil producer Rosneft.
In other energy stocks, Chevron Corporation (CVX) rose 3.13%, and ConocoPhillips (COP) increased by 2.21%. EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) and Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD) increased by 1.05% and 1.33%, respectively.
In the financial sector, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) stock gained 2.45%, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) rose 2.20%, and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) increased by 4.30%. Visa Inc. (V) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were up 0.03% and 1.53%, respectively.
In the communication services sector, Alphabet Inc (Googl) advanced 0.69%, Meta Platform Inc. (FB) surged 2.45%, and Walt Disney Company (DIS) rose 1.36%. Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) and Verizon Communication Inc. (VZ) were up 0.19% and 1.05%, respectively.
The global cryptocurrency market was down 0.65% to US$1.92 trillion at 3:35 pm ET, as per coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin’s (BTC) price fell 0.18% to US$43,791.95 in the last 24 hours.
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Futures & Commodities
Gold futures declined 0.78% to US$1,928.70 per ounce. Silver futures decreased by 0.61% to US$25.385 per ounce, while copper futures jumped 1.88% to US$4.6828.
Brent oil futures increased by 8.77% to US$114.15 per barrel and WTI crude futures were up by 7.71% to US$111.38.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields increased 7.25% to 2.259, while the 10-year bond yields were up 10.49% to 1.890.
US Dollar Futures Index declined 0.06% at US$97.350.
