· Stocks rose sharply on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and said it will be “patient” with raising rates moving forward. Strong earnings from Boeing and Apple also boosted the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 434.90 points higher at 25,014.86, as Boeing and Apple outperformed. Wednesday also marked the Dow’s first close above 25,000 since Dec. 4. The S&P 500 gained 1.56percent, led by the tech and consumer discretionary sectors. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.2 percent to 7,183.08.
· “It seems like the Fed is becoming more market dependent rather than data dependent,” said Jack Ablin, founding partner of Cresset Wealth. “The market has become accustomed to below fair-value interest rates and trying to raise them is creating hardship. Accommodation is the new neutral.”
· Boeing shares jumped 6.25 percent after its quarterly earnings easily beat expectations. The aerospace giant also posted annual revenue of more than $100 billion for the first time and gave strong earnings guidance for 2019.
· Apple climbed 6.8 percent after reporting a quarterly profit that barely beat estimates. The company’s overall quarterly revenue topped expectations, but iPhone sales for the quarter came in below estimates. The report comes after the company had slashed its revenue guidance earlier this month, citing a slowdown in China.
· Stocks in Asia were set to gain in Thursday trade on the back of a strong finish overnight on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would be “patient” in raising interest rates going forward.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained more than 0.3 percent in early trade, with most sectors seeing gains. Shares of oil companies advanced as the energy subindex surged 1.77 percent following Wednesday’s gain in oil prices. Santos was higher by 2.06 percent, Woodside Petroleum rose 1.31 percent while Beach Energy soared 7.04 percent.
Meanwhile, futures pointed to a higher open for Japan’s Nikkei 225. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 20,815 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 20,780. The benchmark index last closed at20,556.54.
Reference: CNBC
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