AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

NEW YORK: US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, adding to gains after the Federal Reserve repeated a pledge to use its "full range of tools" to support the economy but cautioned that the outlook "will depend significantly on the course of the virus."

At the end of its two-day policy meeting the Fed said it will keep its interest rate target range until it is confident the economy has weathered the coronavirus pandemic and is on track for maximum employment and price stability goals.

While strategists said they found no surprising decisions after the meeting, many pointed out that the Fed's focus on the virus highlighted the uncertainties it faces.

"The Fed is putting health again front and center in its statement, which is impactful and meaningful, especially when we're waiting on a bipartisan agreement on the fifth round of the CARES Act. It's a bit ominous, to be frank," said Nela Richardson, investment strategist at

St. Louis-based Edward Jones.

But Richardson noted the "commitment to do whatever it takes to get the economy going again" and a recognition the economy has improved and "come up from the bottom."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 160.29 points, or 0.61%, to 26,539.57, the S&P 500 gained 40 points, or 1.24%, to 3,258.44 and the Nasdaq Composite added 140.85 points, or 1.35%, to 10,542.94.

All 11 major S&P sectors ended the day higher with the energy and financial sectors leading percentage gains.

Wall Street's major indexes had already been higher before the Fed commentary as investors anticipated earnings reports due on Thursday from Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet's Google.

These companies were among the biggest boosts for Nasdaq even as the chief executives of all four companies also faced jabs from lawmakers at a congressional hearing on antitrust issues.

Investors were also focused on contentious negotiations in Washington around what should go into government's next coronavirus relief plan.

Of the S&P 500 firms that have reported results, 79.1% have surpassed a low bar of quarterly profit expectations, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc shares finished up 12.5% after the chipmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast and boosted the Philadelphia chip index.

Starbucks Corp climbed 3.7% after the coffee chain said business was "steadily recovering" worldwide and it would report a profit in the current quarter.

Boeing Co shares slipped after it slashed production of its biggest twin-engined jets and reported a bigger-than-expected loss due to the fallout from the pandemic.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.96-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.09-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 16 new lows. On US exchanges 9.78 billion shares changed hands compared with the 10.5 billion average for the last 20 sessions.

Comments

Comments are closed.