Wall Street closed higher amid bets on interest rates peaking, ‎strong results

The three major stock indices on Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday amid hopes that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) has reached the end of its interest rate hike campaign, while stocks also received support from strong quarterly earnings reports.

According to Reuters, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 80.30 points, or 1.89%, at 4,317.77 points, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 233.40 points, or 1.79%, to reach 13,294.87 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 566.04 points, or 1.70%, to 33,840.62 points.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected. While its Chairman Jerome Powell left the door open for further tightening, he also acknowledged the impact of the recent rise in bond yields on the economy.