US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced the decision to slow the rate of interest rate hikes, starting in December, and stated that inflation is still very high, and that interest rates will be much higher than expected in 2023.
Stocks in the United States closed on the rise by the end of trading on Wednesday, as they accompanied indices to the upside, recording gains in the technology sector, consumer goods and consumer services sectors.
As at the end of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 2.18%, reaching its highest record level in 6 months, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose by 3.09% and the Nasdaq index increased by 4.41%.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Japanese Nikkei index rose by 1.09% to 28,273.13 points, while the broader Topix index increased by 0.56% to 1996.71 points.
Crude oil futures fell during the Asian session today, as crude oil contracts recorded a decrease of 0.29%, to be traded in January at a price of $80.32 a barrel.
It was previously traded at a session low of $80.22 a barrel.
On the other hand, gold futures rose by 1.71%, and were traded in February at $1,789.95 an ounce.
It was previously trading at a session high of $1,793.50 an ounce.