Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange continued their record-setting rally on Thursday as investors’ optimism grew following the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week. The Fed assured investors that it would remain on track for its forecasted policy trajectory, introducing two to three interest rate cuts this year.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3%, closing at a new record high of 5,241. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the session 0.2% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained roughly 270 points to approach the 40,000-point mark; a 0.7% increase.
With the next Federal Reserve policy meeting scheduled for six weeks’ time, markets’ focus will shift to other factors in order to dictate the trajectory of stocks. These include developments in AI, which largely drive tech stocks, as well as other economic data including the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), and the U.S. jobs reports.