Wall Street: opens higher (+1.1% S&P) following yesterday’s sell-off

Nasdaq up 1.4 per cent as Intel surges (+10.7 per cent) following an agreement with Apple

Wall Street opened higher, following yesterday’s falls caused by the Federal Reserve. At the conclusion of the Fed’s meeting – the first under the chairmanship of Kevin Warsh – the central bank left interest rates unchanged at 3.5%–3.75%. However, almost half of the members of the Fed’s Monetary Policy Committee (9 out of 19) now believe that it will be necessary to raise interest rates this year. None of them shared this view just three months ago, when the Fed published its latest projections. Six of these nine – almost a third of the committee – believe that more than one quarter-point rate rise will be necessary this year. At the start of trading, the Dow Jones gained 410.76 points (+0.80%), the S&P 500 rose by 85.02 points (+1.15%), and the Nasdaq added 376.59 points (+1.45%).

Intel is driving up shares in the semiconductor sector, with a 10.7 per cent rise, after President Donald Trump announced a partnership between the company and Apple (+1.3 per cent) to design chips in the United States.

WTI crude oil on the NYMEX is down 2.71% at $74.71 a barrel.

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