by Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday after a choppy session, after five consecutive days of declines, as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) announced an increase in its interest rates in line with market expectations, with the aim of fighting inflation without plunging the economy into recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.00%, or 303.70 points, to 30,668.53 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 54.51 points, or 1.46%, to 3,789.99 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 270.81 points (2.50%) to 11,099.16 points.
The Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points, the highest since 1994, saying it expects the economy to slow down and unemployment to rise in the coming months.
After the release of the statement from the US central bank, following its two-day monetary policy meeting, Wall Street alternated between upward moves and declines.
This volatility ended with comments from the Fed Chairman, which tipped the major indexes into the green.
Jerome Powell said in a press conference that an increase in interest rates of 50 points or 75 basis points should be recorded in July, but that an increase of 75 basis points should not become the norm.
Noting that markets rose after that announcement from Fed boss Sam Stovall, a strategist at CFRA Research in New York, said it was “sort of a vote of confidence” that the central bank “is finally aware of the inflation problem and is willing to take a more aggressive stance.”
While an interest rate hike of 50 basis points was initially expected this month, investors had been anticipating for several days a statement from the Fed announcing a hike of 75 basis points, following data on the consumer prices published last Friday.
The main Wall Street indexes have been under pressure since the start of the year amid soaring inflation, rising borrowing costs, slowing economic growth and weaker than expected quarterly results.
Data released today show that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly declined 0.3% in May, as auto purchases retreated due to vehicle shortages and soaring prices. gasoline.
On the stock side, Citigroup rose 3.52%, contributing to the rise in the S&P-500 banking sector.
Boeing jumped 9.46% after China Southern Airlines conducted test flights with a 737 MAX for the first time since March, suggesting a return to service in China as demand rebounds.
(French version Jean Terzian)