US stock indices gained on Thursday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comments boosted investors’ hopes for a rate cut in June.
At 11:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 125.82 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 38,786.87, the S&P 500 was up 44.25 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 5,149.01, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 199.87 points, or 1.25 per cent, at 16,231.41.
At 9:32 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 219.73 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 38,880.78, the S&P 500 was up 32.08 points, or 0.63 per cent, at 5,136.84, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 111.59 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 16,143.14.
Powell said on Thursday the US central bank is “not far” from getting enough confidence that inflation is heading to the Fed’s 2 per cent goal to be able to start interest-rate cuts.
On Wednesday, he said the Federal Reserve expects to cut interest rate later this year.
“If the economy evolves broadly as expected,…
