Fed comments provide boost for US markets
US stocks closed higher on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve signalled it could cut interest rates as soon as September, with technology shares leading the way. "The Fed delivered what the markets anticipated in terms of opening the door to a rate cut in September without overcommitting," said LBBW's Karl Haeling. Major US indices spent almost the entire day in positive territory, hitting peaks during Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference before edging down a bit. The Nasdaq Composite Index led major indices, winning 2.6 percent to finish at 17,599.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 percent to 40,842.79, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent to 5,522.29. After two days of deliberations, Fed policymakers voted unanimously to maintain interest rates at a 23-year high. But Powell told a news conference that the first interest rate cut could come "as soon as" the Fed's next rate meeting in September. "The Fed is beginning to feel more comfortable that inflation is beginning to come down," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Capital. "The Fed feels that it can finally get control of inflation, there is a light at the end of the tunnel." Semiconductor shares enjoyed a buoyant session, with artificial intelligence player Nvidia rocketing up 12.8 percent and Broadcom and Micron also advancing. Boeing gained 2.1 percent despite reporting a bigger than expected loss as the troubled aviation company named Robert "Kelly" Ortberg its next CEO. The appointment won praise from analysts who said Ortberg's extensive aerospace experience would bolster a turnaround. Microsoft fell 1.1 percent despite reporting a 10 percent jump in quarterly profit to US$22 billion. Analysts said a crucial cloud computing unit did not grow as strongly as expected. (AFP)