by Carolina Mandl
Sept 7 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday, helped by falling bond yields, as investors wait to see what action the Federal Reserve will take at its next meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4%, or 435.98 points, to 31,581.28 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 71.68 points, or 1.83%, to 3,979.87 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 246.99 points (2.14%) to 11,791.90 points.
The market has fallen sharply since statements in mid-August by the President of the American central bank, Jerome Powell, on the need to continue raising rates, and because of the economic slowdown in Europe and China.
Recent indicators, which show good resilience of the US economy, have also led economists to anticipate an interest rate hike of 75 basis points at the next Fed meeting at the end of September.
Ten-year Treasuries fell on Wednesday after hitting a three-month high the previous day.
Investors are still looking for clues as to how the Fed will decide to raise interest rates in order to fight inflation.
“Bond markets are doing a little better today, which is giving the stock market a little more positive sentiment, but the big concerns are still what the Fed is going to do on September 21. So every day we’re seeing a back and forth,” says Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company.
Investors are now awaiting Jerome Powell’s speech scheduled for Thursday, and the publication of consumer price figures expected next week.
The Federal Reserve has estimated in its “Beige Book”, which serves as the basis for the work of the Fed’s Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC), that price pressures should persist at least until the end of the year.
At stocks, the energy sector was down on the decline in oil amid concerns over demand.
Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft, posted gains and carried the Nasdaq.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio ended the session in the green after trading lower as second-quarter sales beat expectations offsetting a widening adjusted net loss.
* TO BE FOLLOWED ON THURSDAY:
(With contributions from Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas; French version Camille Raynaud)