U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell calmed investor fears about higher inflation leading to central-bank tightening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.17%
added 56 points, 0.2%, to close near 33,502. The S&P 500
SPX,
+0.42%
added 17 points, 0.4%, to close near 4,097, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+1.03%
surged 1%, 140 points, to touch 13,829. 10-year Treasury yields have stopped climbing higher, despite signs of a strengthening economy, Arone said. “That’s given investors a bit of relief,” he added and helped to boost technology stocks again. On Thursday, Powell repeated his belief that a rise in inflation this year would be temporary, keeping the Fed’s easy-money policies in place for the near term.
