- Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher on Wednesday.
- Risk sentiment improves on FOMC Chairman Powell’s remarks.
- Energy shares rise as Saudi Arabia and UAE reportedly reach compromise over production.
Major equity indexes in the US opened decisively higher on Wednesday as risk flows return to markets on FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell’s prepared remarks. As of writing, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.55% at 14,756, the S&P 500, which notched a new record high of 4,393, was rising 0.5% at 4,391 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 0.45% at 35,050.
While delivering the Fed’s semiannual report to Congress, FOMC Chairman Powell is set to reassure that the monetary policy will continue to deliver powerful support until the economic recovery is complete. Moreover, Powell will note that the job market is still a ways off from the progress needed to begin the bond-buying taper.
Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is up more than 1% as investors cheer a Reuters report saying that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached a compromise over the oil production deal. On the other hand, the Healthcare Index is the only major sector trading in the negative territory after the opening bell.
