U.S. stocks were mostly higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average poised for their strongest January in three decades, after the Federal Reserve signaled that rate increases are on pause and that its next policy move will depend on economic data.
How are benchmarks performing?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.31%[1] fell 33 points, or 0.1% to 24,980, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.61%[2] rose 20 points, or 0.8% to 2,701. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.14%[3] meanwhile, rose 103 points, or 1.4% to 7,286.
With a few hours remaining until closing bell, the S&P 500 is holding a 7.8% monthly gain, the Dow is 7.1% higher and the Nasdaq is up 9.8%, putting the large-cap index and the Dow in position for the best January since 1989[4] and the Nasdaq for its strongest January since 2001.
Read: Stock-market investors should brace for a plunge in business investment, analysts warns[5]
What’s driving the market?
The Fed said it would be ‘patient’ with interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day gathering on Wednesday, implying that it may be at the end of its rate-hike campaign. The central bank further surprised investors by issuing a separate statement regarding its $4 trillion balance sheet, indicating an unwind of that asset portfolio could end sooner than expected. The Fed cited market turbulence as one key consideration for its softer tone.
Read: How a dovish Fed sparked a stock-market rally and tanked the U.S. dollar[6]
The market interpreted Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks after the decision as a sign of a more accommodative posture, at least for the moment, as long as no other unforeseen factors, including a sluggish global economy, spook policy makers.
Read: How the Fed left stock-market investors at the mercy of incoming data[7]
Meanwhile, the release of corporate quarterly results continued with some three dozen S&P 500 components set to deliver earnings reports in the busiest day of the busiest week of earnings season.
In trade, market observers were watching developments between the U.S. and China as officials there attempted to forge the framework toward a resolution of tariff disputes in the final day of this round of negotiations. President Donald Trump tweeted[8]...