Powell Revives Fading New York Stock Market... Nasdaq Escapes 3% Plunge

Tesla Closes Down 2% After 13% Drop

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market closed mixed amid significant volatility. Once again, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stepped in as the savior.

On the 23rd (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.66 points (0.05%) to close at 31,537.35, the S&P 500 index increased by 4.87 points (0.13%) to 3,881.37, and the Nasdaq index fell 67.85 points (0.5%) to 13,465.20.

All three major indices showed weakness immediately after the opening, with the Nasdaq experiencing a plunge of over 3%, threatening to break below 13,000. Tesla’s stock price, linked to the decline in Bitcoin, experienced a remarkable intraday drop of 13%.

The situation reversed after 10 a.m. when Powell’s testimony to Congress was released.

Chairman Powell assessed that employment and inflation are still far from the Fed’s targets and reiterated that accommodative monetary policy will continue until substantial further progress is made. He predicted that achieving the targets will take considerable time and also announced plans to maintain zero interest rates and the asset purchase program.

On this day, Powell focused on calming market anxiety by emphasizing that inflation would not rise as much as feared. It seemed aimed at blocking the possibility of early tapering (reduction of asset purchases) due to a surge in inflation.

After Powell’s remarks, the Dow and S&P 500 actually rose toward the end of the session, and the Nasdaq recovered most of its losses. Tesla closed down 2.19%, while Apple ended nearly flat with a 0.11% decline.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield initially rose to around 1.39% early in the session but fell to 1.349% following Powell’s comments. A decline in bond yields means a rise in bond prices.

April West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices closed down $0.03 (0.1%) at $61.67 per barrel. April gold prices ended the day at $1,805.90, down $2.5 (0.1%) from the previous trading day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.