WASHINGTON — U.S. stocks rose across the board as investors took comfort in signs that the Federal Reserve is moving to tackle high inflation despite pressure from President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,778.18 on the 17th, up 316.28 points, or 0.61%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's 500 ended at 7,637.73, up 85.19 points, or 1.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 26,418.30, up 439.87 points, or 1.69%.
Treasury yields fell, meaning bond prices rose. The 10-year yield, which had topped 5% a day earlier, dropped 7 basis points to 4.93%. One basis point equals 0.01 percentage point. The two-year yield fell 6 basis points to 4.67%, and the 30-year yield also slipped 6 basis points to 5.29%.
Oil prices declined as concerns over Saudi Arabian crude supply disruptions eased somewhat. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent crude for November delivery settled at $104.82 a barrel, down 0.95%. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery closed at $101.91 a barrel, down 0.51%. Prices fell after reports that Saudi Arabia had decided to supply more crude to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers near the port of Sohar in Oman.
Robert Conzo, chief executive of The Wealth Alliance, told CNBC that the market reaction could be summed up in one word: relief. He said the relief appeared to stem from a sense that the Fed is addressing a persistent inflation problem. He cautioned, however, that markets could still face extreme volatility depending on how the Middle East conflict unfolds. If oil prices stay high, he said, they eventually feed through to consumer prices, and the longer they remain elevated, the harder it becomes to contain inflation.
Large-cap technology shares led the indexes higher. Nvidia and Amazon each gained 2%, and Microsoft rose 1.5%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 3.14%, SK hynix American depositary receipts advanced 4.64%, Micron gained 5.5%, Intel rose 7.7% and Qualcomm added 2.1%.
