Stocks Jump as Powell Soothes Wall Street’s Nerves: Markets Wrap

Stocks rallied, halting a five-day rout that took 10% off the S&P 500, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said outsized rate hikes will be rare as officials intensify their battle against sky-high inflation. Treasury yields slumped alongside the dollar.

Equities pushed higher amid wild swings as the central bank raised rates by 75 basis points — the biggest increase since 1994 — and Powell said officials could move by that much in July or make a smaller half-point hike. While “it will take some time” to get inflation back down, the Fed chief is confident that “we will do that.” His remarks sent two-year Treasury yields sinking as much as 24 basis points.