Wall Street today: S&P 500 nears record high, Nasdaq up 1.5% after Jerome Powell says ‘time has come’ for rate cuts

US stock indices edged higher on Friday as investors’ sentiments were boosted by comments from the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on monetary policy easing.

At Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming on Friday, Powell said: “The time has come for policy to adjust.”

“The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,” he added.

The US central bank began to hike interest rates sharply more than two years ago as inflation rose to its worst levels in more than 40 years.

As of 10:05 am Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 305 points, or 0.7%, the S&P 500 was 1% higher, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 166.3 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 40,879.12. The S&P 500 rose 31.8 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 5,602.49, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 153.4 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 17,772.727.

Workday stock jumped 12.6 per cent after delivering better quarterly profit and revenue than analysts forecast.

Ross Stores stock climbed 4.7 per cent after topping analysts’ estimates for profit and revenue.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 3.84 per cent from 3.86 per cent late on Thursday. The 2-year yield dipped to 4.00 per cent. 

Crude oil

Oil prices rose 2 per cent on Friday on a weaker US dollar.

Brent crude futures rose $1.38, or 1.8 per cent, to $78.60 a barrel at 1220 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.46, or 2 per cent, to $74.47.

Bullion

Gold prices gained on Friday ahead of

Jerome Powell's speech.

Spot gold rose 0.7 per cent to $2,500.83 per ounce by 1219 GMT. US gold futures gained 0.8 per cent to $2,536.50.

Spot silver rose nearly 1.5 per cent to $29.41 per ounce.