The Nasdaq Composite index has closed at an all-time high after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassured markets that further interest rate hikes are unlikely.
The Nasdaq rose 122.94 points, or 0.8%, to close at a record high of 16,511.18 on May 14. It is the seventh time this year that the index of primarily technology stocks has closed at an all-time high.
The benchmark S&P 500 index, which is comprised of the 500 largest American companies by market weighting, rose 0.5% to close near a record high of its own.
The rally in equities came after Fed Chair Powell said during a speech that the U.S. central bank is reluctant to raise interest rates further even though inflation is proving to be sticky.
“We’ll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work,” said Powell in speaking to the Foreign Bankers’ Association in Amsterdam.
Markets also rallied on May 14 after the headline Producer Price Index (PPI), a gauge of inflation, was revised lower for the month of March.
The U.S. market also got a lift as meme stocks such as GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) continue to rally.
Attention now turns to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the leading inflation measure in America. The inflation reading for April is expected to influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions in coming months.
So far in 2024, the Nasdaq Composite index has risen 12%.
