U.S. stocks climb higher as Fed’s Williams boosts rate cut hopes
U.S. stocks rose Friday, ending a volatile week on a positive note after Federal Reserve President John Williams pointed towards a potential interest rate cut in December.
At 09:32 ET (14:32 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 175 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 index gained 30 points, or 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 130 points, or 0.6%.
Even with this positive start, all three major U.S. stock indexes on track for a losing week following tech-led selling on concerns over elevated valuations.
Fed’s Williams boosts rate cut hopes
Sentiment received a boost Friday after Williams said, in a speech at the Central Bank of Chile Centennial Conference, that he sees "room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal funds rate." He noted that downside risks to employment have increased while upside risks to inflation have lessened.
Williams described current monetary policy as "modestly restrictive" and indicated a desire to move the policy stance "closer to the range of neutral."
Following Williams’ comments, traders boosted the odds of a December rate cut to more than 50%, up from nearly 37% earlier.
These comments partly allayed concerns exacerbated by stronger-than-expected job growth for September, detailed by the delayed jobs report released on Thursday, that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged next month.
Source: Investing.com
