Note: Figures recorded at 7:40am AEDT. Updated figures and a video recording will be available at 9am AEDT.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday as stocks recover from a dismal day for the major averages after the Federal Reserve held steady on rates but signalled that a March cut is unlikely.
The 30-stock Dow added 353 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 added 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3%.
Earnings returned to the forefront with three of the so-called Magnificent Seven reporting results after the market close. Stock in iPhone maker Apple ticked up more than 1%, helping lift the broader S&P 500. Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon climbed more than 2%, while Facebook-parent Meta gained nearly 2%.
Ahead of the market open, pharmaceutical company Merck turned in a fourth-quarter beat, which helped prop up the Dow, as its shares climbed more than 4%.
Wall Street is coming off a poor session. The Dow fell 317 points, or 0.8%, posting its worst day since December. The S&P 500 slid 1.6% on Wednesday in its worst day since September. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.2%, its worst session since October.
Those losses come after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his post-meeting conference discouraged investor hopes for a rate cut as soon as March, sending equities tumbling.
Bond yields slumped further, with the 10-year Treasury pulling back to a one-month low. The benchmark was last 10 basis points lower at 3.86%.
Investors will now turn their attention to the first jobs report of the year due out Friday morning.
Quarterly results from Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Atlassian are anticipated to be released after the bell.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.30am was buying 65.72 US cents.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.11 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.26 per cent, and Paris closed 0.89 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.76 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.52 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.64 per cent lower.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 1.20 per cent lower at 7,588.19.
Ex-dividends
Australian Foundation Investment Co (ASX:AFI) is paying 11.5 cents fully franked
Euroz Hartleys Group (ASX:EZL) is paying 1.75 cents fully franked
Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) is paying 2.5 cents unfranked
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
