Global markets update: US stocks gain as Powell wraps up testimony

The S&P 500 rose 16.15 points, or 0.37%, at 4,381.84 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.16 points, or 0.01%, at 33,948.36. The Nasdaq Composite gained 128.41 points, or 0.95%, at 13,630.61.

Powell, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee for his semi-annual monetary policy testimony reiterated his view that more interest rate hikes are likely in the months ahead.

The Fed held interest rates steady at its last meeting after raising rates aggressively throughout 2022 and into 2023 to tame painfully high inflation.

Labor Department reported Thursday that number of jobless claims remained elevated last week.

Bond market

The yield on the 10-year treasury rose to 3.79% from 3.73% late Wednesday.

Currencies

The US dollar rose to 143.07 Japanese yen from 141.80. The euro fell to $1.0959 from $1.0984. 

Energy prices

Brent crude for August delivery fell $2.98 to $74.14 a barrel on Thursday. US crude oil benchmark for August delivery fell $3.02 to $69.51 a barrel.

Natural gas for July delivery rose 1 cent to $2.61 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Canada

Canada stocks fell on Thursday to its lowest closing level in three weeks on a drop in commodity prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 125.05 points, or 0.6% at 19,580.90.

Europe

European shares declined on Thursday after rate hikes by central banks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.5% lower, after falling as much as 1.3% earlier in the day.

The Bank of England hiked its main interest rate by a bigger margin than expected to a 15-year high. Central banks in Norway, Switzerland and Turkey also raised borrowing rates.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8% at 7,502.03. Germany’s DAX down 0.2% at 15,988.16.   France’s CAC 40 lost 0.8% at 7,203.28.

Asia

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% at 33,264.88.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s Shanghai Composite were closed for a holiday.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index ended 1.6% lower at 7,195.50. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index finished 0.3% lower at 11,739.05 points. 

Bullion

Gold for August delivery fell $21.20 to $1,923.70 an ounce. Silver for July delivery fell 34 cents to $22.47 an ounce. 

Updated: 23 Jun 2023, 03:06 AM IST