Wall Street Closes Higher Amid Easing Fears Over Fed And Russian Default

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA, March 17, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Energy Sector Grows Along With Oil, Defense Sectors Lagging
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Indices are growing: Dow 1.23%, S&P 500 1.23%, Nasdaq 1.33%.

March 17 – All three major Wall Street indexes rose more than 1% on Thursday as investors weighed in on the Federal Reserve’s bid to raise interest rates and easing fears of default prospects in Russia after creditors received payments.

Investors were confident that Russia could, at least for now, avert what would be its first foreign bond default in a century. The move came as lenders received dollar-denominated coupons on Russian bonds that expired this week, two market sources told Reuters on Thursday. More

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq recorded their biggest 3-session percentage gain since early November 2020 after reports boosted risk appetite in a market that is already benefiting from bargain-hunting. The S&P 500 is also up more than 1% for the third day in a row.

The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, as expected, and sees an aggressive plan for further hikes, while policymakers also slashed economic growth forecasts for the year. More

According to Michael James, managing director of equities trading at Wedbush Securities, news of payments in Russia and the breaking of “up” technical downlines in indices, including the S&P and Nasdaq, helped lift the stock.

“This gives investors a heightened level of cautious optimism, which is different from the significant pessimism we have experienced since early January,” James said.

“People are more satisfied with fact scores going up. Chairman (Jerome) Powell has been talking ad nauseam about this since early December,” he said. “The fact that there were no significant negative surprises in the Fed’s post-meeting plans, as well as Powell’s comment, gave people the feeling that we may have seen as badly as it will in the near future.”

Calling the Fed’s plans “dovish,” Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York, also said continued peace talks between Russia and Ukraine helped the mood.

“What you see today is just a side effect of yesterday,” Blancato said. “There is potential conflict resolution overseas, positive effects from the Federal Reserve and stocks at a very fair entry point, which provides an opportunity to add risk.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 417.66 points, or 1.23%, to 34,480.76; the S&P 500 (.SPX) added 53.81 points, or 1.23%, to 4,411 .67 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 178.23 points, or 1.33%, to 13,614.78.

Energy (.SPNY) was the biggest percentage gain among the S&P’s 11 major industry sectors, ending a 3.5% gain as oil prices surged 8% as the crude oil market recovered from days of losses with renewed focus on supply shortages in the coming weeks. due to sanctions against Russia.

Lagging behind were the most defensive industries, with utilities (.SPLRCU) adding just 0.5% and consumer goods (.SPLRCS) adding 0.6%.

The interest rate-sensitive S&P Banking Index (.SPXBK) ended the session slightly higher after falling 2% at the start of the session and gaining 3.7% on Wednesday. The US Treasury yield curve has rebounded after hitting its flattest level in more than two years earlier.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met again on Thursday for peace talks but said their positions were at odds. More

Earlier Thursday, data showed that weekly jobless claims eased last week as labor demand remained strong, setting the economy up for another month of strong job growth. More

The number of rising issues on the NYSE exceeded the number of falling ones by a ratio of 4.10 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 2.93 to 1 favored growth.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows; The Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 53 new lows.

12.88 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, compared to a 20-day moving average of 14.18 billion.

Reporting by Sinéad Carew, Devik Jain, Susan Matthew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bangalore; Edited by Anil D’Silva, Sriraj Kalluvila and Aurora Ellis

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