Dow Jumps More Than 100 Points To Break Above 27,000 For The First Time Ever

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 07/11/19 | News Source: CNBC

Stocks rose on Thursday on the back of testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that signaled easier monetary policy could be implemented later this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 100 points higher at the open while the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to trade back above 3,000. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1%.

CVS Health and Cigna jumped 8% and 13.5%, respectively, after the White House dropped a proposal to eliminate drug rebates. Delta Air Lines rose 0.5% on better-than-expected earnings.

In testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Powell said business investments across the U.S. have slowed “notably” recently as uncertainties over the economic outlook linger. As a result, expectations of an upcoming rate cut grew.

“Crosscurrents have reemerged,” Powell said. “Many FOMC participants saw that the case for a somewhat more accommodative monetary policy had strengthened. Since then, based on incoming data and other developments, it appears that uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the U.S. economic outlook.”

Powell’s testimony pushed stocks to record highs on Wednesday. Gold also surged while short-term rates slipped.

The minutes from the central bank’s policy meeting last month reiterated Powell’s comments.

“It is fair to say that such a cut would be unprecedented in modern times given overall financial conditions and the balance of economic data,” Michael Shaoul, chairman and CEO of Marketfield Asset Management, wrote in a note. “This is not quite the same as saying it is completely unwarranted, particularly if one grants the yield curve a prognostic capability that overrides other financial markets, and to some extent the trade dispute ... represents an exogenous shock to overall economic activity that is very hard to estimate and economic data is in some cases weaker than it was last summer.” Read more at CNBC