Stocks Close Higher as Market Absorbs Powell Comments; Nike Earnings Impress
By Peter Nurse and Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, recovering after the previous session’s weakness sparked by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting the central bank could lift interest rates more quickly than expected.
At 4:15 PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 254 points or 0.7%, the S&P 500 rose 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite was up 1.9%.
The three main indexes on Wall Street closed lower Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping over 200 points, or 0.6%, breaking a five-day winning streak, the S&P 500 fell marginally and the NASDAQ Composite declined 0.4% after Fed chief Powell vowed Monday to take the “necessary steps” to curb inflation.
“If we conclude that it is appropriate to move more aggressively by raising the federal funds rate by more than 25 basis points at a meeting or meetings, we will do so,” Powell said.
The Fed raised the benchmark lending rate by a quarter point at its meeting last week, the first increase since December 2018.
Also helping the tone were strong numbers from Nike (NYSE:NKE), with the world’s biggest sportswear maker beating third-quarter revenue and profit expectations, helped by strong demand in North America. The retailer also stated that manufacturing issues that have hurt sales over the past six months were now behind it.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) unveiled its new European production hub in Germany earlier Tuesday, while Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) raised its share buyback program by $9 billion to $25 billion, the Chinese e-commerce giant’s largest ever repurchase plan.
Cruise operator Carnival (NYSE:CCL) reported a loss of $1.89 billion for the fiscal first quarter. Software giant Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) will report after the closing bell.
Elsewhere, investors will keep a wary eye on developments in eastern Europe, with Russian troops continuing to bombard several Ukrainian cities, and the Black Sea port of Mariupol in particular.
Ukraine would hold a referendum on the terms of any peace agreement with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised interview late Monday.
The economic data slate Tuesday includes numbers from Redbook Research and the Richmond Fed.
Oil prices reversed an earlier drop on Tuesday and later fell back into the red while European Union governments continue to discuss joining the United States in sanctioning Russian oil in return for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities by Iranian-aligned Houthis over the weekend have also added jitters to the market.
By 4:16 PM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.9% lower at $108.97 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.5% to $115.03. Both contracts had settled up more than 7% on Monday.
U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute are due later in the day.
Additionally, gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,920/oz.
This story was originally published at 7 AM ET and updated.
Related Articles
Stocks Close Higher as Market Absorbs Powell Comments; Nike Earnings Impress
Intel, Micron CEOs to make case for U.S. semiconductor subsides: testimony
Russian sanctions-linked firms run into hurdles with debt payments
