WEDNESDAY – Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors awaited a key speech from the top Federal Reserve official, while hope that a U.S.-China trade truce could come lifted sentiment on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 200 points, led by gains in Boeing. The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent as the technology sector gained around 1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7 percent.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak at the Economic Club of New York. During the event, Powell is slated to talk about the Fed’s framework for monitoring financial stability. Investors are eagerly awaiting the speech as stocks have fallen in part because of fears the central bank may be tightening monetary policy too quickly.
Easing worries on U.S.-China trade also boosted stocks on Wednesday. A New York Times report said Trump was worried about the impact of a long trade war with China on markets and the economy. This could lead Trump to seek a compromise with China on trade, the Times said, citing U.S. officials.
Boeing shares rose more than 2 percent as trade worries eased. They also rose after Indonesia investigators said they are looking at a possible maintenance issue that could have led to the Lion Air crash last month.
Stocks also rose as beaten-down tech shares regained some of their losses. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet all rose.
