Wall Street reverses, edges higher on last day of bearish month
By Ishika Dangayach on Jan 31, 2022 | 02:31 AM IST
• S&P 500 rises 1.09 %
• Nasdaq composite index gains 2.38 %
• Dow Jones industrial average surges 0.46 %
US stock indices edged up on Monday even after their weakest month since March 2020 due to a hike in interest rate forecasts.
In Monday trade, the S&P 500 rose 1.09 %. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.38 %, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.46 %.
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Stocks have tumbled in erratic trading this month as investors try to gauge how soon the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in response to rising inflation and the tight job market.
The Federal Reserve said that it will begin decreasing its balance sheet after raising
interest rates. The central bank laid out its criteria for "significantly" shrinking its balance sheet.
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Fed Chair Powell stated that there is "quite a bit of room" to raise interest rates without jeopardizing the labor market.
In Heavyweight technology stocks, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) surged 1.56 %, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) gained 0.14 % and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) advanced by 0.41 % while Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) jumped 2.49 %.
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In the bank sector, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) advanced 1.44 % and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) climbed 0.11 %, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) gained 0.50 % while Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) plummeted 1.01 %.
While Brent crude, the global oil benchmark climbed 1.29 % to $91.19 a barrel. WTI Crude oil prices surged 0.69 % to $87.42 per barrel.
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Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed 0.60 % while Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.97 %. Nikkei 225 advanced 1.07 % and Hang Seng Index soared 1.07 %.
Picture Credits: ET