The Dow Jones Industrials resumed its winning ways at the outset Tuesday, popping 262.69 points to start things off at 34,815.68, led by Nike’s post-earnings report gain.
The S&P 500 sprinted 38.91 points to 4,500.09
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 197.21 points, or 1.4%, to 14,035.67.
Stocks are coming off a volatile session Monday, as Powell said “inflation is much too high” and vowed to take “necessary steps” to curb inflation. The comments came less than a week after the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2018.
Some market participants raised their expectations for rate hikes following Powell’s comments. Goldman Sachs on Monday upped its forecast to 50 basis point hikes at the May and June Fed meetings.
Bank stocks rose Tuesday along with interest rates. Financials comprised the top-performing S&P 500 sector. JPMorgan gained more than 2%, and Bank of America rose around 4%.
Technology stocks, which struggled Monday after Powell’s comments, rebounded Tuesday. Big Tech names Alphabet, Meta and Amazon all gained more than 1%, providing support to the indexes.
Nike shares moved up more than 4% after the retailer reported a beat on the top and bottom lines for its fiscal third quarter, buoyed by strong demand in North America.
Investors on Tuesday continued to watch the situation in Eastern Europe, with President Joe Biden saying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s back is “against the wall” as the war with Ukraine nears a stalemate.
Treasury prices slumped, raising yields to 2.38% from Monday’s 2.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.74 to $110.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $16.30 to $1,913.20 U.S. an ounce.