Life Insurance Winners and Losers in Turbulent Year for Stocks
January 10, 2023
Wall Street ends in disarray, the momentum didn’t last
January 10, 2023and Amruta Khandekar
Jan 10 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes edged higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in Microsoft and Amazon, as investors assessed commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that steered clear of the monetary policy outlook.
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) rose 1.2% after a report stated the software company was in talks to invest $10 bln in ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
The gains pushed up the S&P 500 information technology sector (.SPLRCT) 0.3%, while a 1.6% rise in Amazon boosted the consumer discretionary sector (.SPLRCD).
Boeing Co (BA.N) dipped 1.3%, pressuring the Dow Jones (.DJI), on a report that Morgan Stanley downgraded the U.S. planemaker’s rating to “equal weight” from “overweight”.
The U.S. central bank’s independence from political influence is central to its ability to battle inflation, Powell said on Tuesday.
Powell’s remarks failed to assuage investors rattled by remarks from two other Federal Reserve policymakers on Monday.
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The comments had dampened hopes that inflation in the United States had peaked and the Fed may soon signal an end to its rate hiking cycle, bolstered by data last week that showed a moderation in wage increases.
“He (Powell) hasn’t disrupted the market in any way and the fact that he stresses the need for political independence while tackling inflation, that’s a definite positive for the markets,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, New York.
