Investing.com – Wall Street rose higher as investors shrugged off concerns that the Federal Reserve will increase rates more than expected.
The S&P 500 was up eight points or 0.30% to 2,752.39 as of 9:41 AM ET (14:41 GMT) while the Dow composite increased 85 points or 0.34% to 25,495.77, and tech
heavy NASDAQ Composite rose over 24 points or 0.34% to 7,355.05.
All three major indexes fell more than 1% after the markets closed on Tuesday amid hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed chair said he thought the economy had strengthened, leaving investors worried that the central bank may hike up interest rates four times instead of three.
Airplane maker Boeing (NYSE:BA) was among the biggest gainers after the morning bell, rising 1.13% amid news that the White House had cut a $3.9 billion deal with the company for two new Air Force ones. Meanwhile software company Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) surged 1.32% while Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) rose 0.57% and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) increased 0.48%.
Elsewhere Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) fell 8.58% after its earnings were less than expected while General Electric (NYSE:GE) dipped 0.97% and Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) decreased 0.55%.
In data news, U.S. fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised down to 2.5% from 2.6% in the previous reading, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
In Europe stocks were mixed. In Germany the DAX fell seven points or 0.06% while France’s CAC 40 increased two points or 0.05% and in London the FTSE 100 gained half a point or 0.01%. Meanwhile Spain’s IBEX 35 was down 25 points or 0.25% and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 inched up three points or 0.09%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.20% to $1,321.20 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.40% to $63.26 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.17% to 90.46.