Wall Street climbs. Powell’s comments avoid price politics

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose in afternoon trading on Tuesday, helped by robust stock growth, amid relief that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell refrained from commenting on interest rate policy in a speech.

In his first public appearance this year, Powell said at a forum sponsored by the Riksbank that the Fed’s independence is necessary to fight inflation.

Recent comments by other Fed officials have supported the view that the central bank needs to remain aggressive in raising interest rates to control inflation. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday that the bank will have to raise interest rates further to combat high inflation.

Investors are anxiously awaiting Thursday’s US Consumer Price Index report, which is expected to show some moderation in prices year-on-year in December.

“There are some indications that inflation is slowing significantly. What investors are really looking for is a gap in key inflation data that could potentially catch the Fed’s attention,” said Tim Gresky, senior portfolio analyst at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

Traders are betting on a 25 basis point rate hike at the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting in February.

Telecommunications Services (.SPLRCL) and consumer appreciation (.SPLRCD) It was among the best performing sectors today.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The S&P 500 rose 119.1 points, or 0.36%, to 33,636.75. (.SPX) rose 20.54 points, or 0.53%, to 3,912.63, the Nasdaq Composite (nineteenth) It added 82.96 points, or 0.78%, to 10,718.61 points.

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.O) The S&P 500 gave it its biggest boost.

Some investors are hoping for signs that the Fed may soon take a breather after raising the federal funds rate seven times in 2022.

The World Bank on Tuesday cut its 2023 growth forecasts on Tuesday to levels that teeter on the brink of recession in many countries as the impact of central bank rate hikes intensifies.

Broadcom Corporation (AVGO.O) Stocks fell, the day after a report that Apple (AAPL.O) It plans to replace the Broadcom chip from its hardware with an internal design in 2025.

Advances outnumbered losers on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 2.06 to 1; On the Nasdaq, a ratio of 2.31 to 1 favored advanced traders.

The S&P 500 posted two new highs in 52 weeks and no new lows. The Nasdaq Composite posted 54 new highs and 25 new lows.

Additional reporting by Anika Biswas, Amruta Khandekar and Yohan M Cherian in Bengaluru. Editing by Chingini Ganguly, Shonak Dasgupta, and Richard Chang

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