FX.co ★ Late-Day Surge Contributes To Higher Close On Wall Street

On Wednesday, stocks exhibited variation throughout the trading day but eventually closed higher due to a surge towards the end of the session. This upward shift broke the three-day losing streak of the Dow and the S&P 500.

All the major averages ended higher, featuring a significant gain by the Dow. It rose 477.75 points or 1.2% to 39,760.08. The S&P 500 went up 44.91 points or 0.9% to 5,248.49 and the Nasdaq increased 83.82 points or 0.5% to 16,399.52.

The Wall Street surge was sparked by traders again buying stocks at reduced prices after early buying interest waned during Tuesday's session. The major averages saw a predominantly positive Tuesday session before pressure set in during the final trading hour.

The market's strengthening might also be attributed to decreasing treasury yields. This has generated ongoing optimism about interest rates' outlook following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement last week. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected, predicting three rate cuts this year.

Following this announcement, the possibility of a 25 basis point rate cut in June surged to 63.5% according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. However, trading activity remained relatively quiet due to a lack of significant U.S. economic data, leading some traders to hold off.

Investors have also been wary of major moves ahead of reports on weekly jobless claims, Chicago business performance, and pending home sales scheduled for release on Thursday.

A report encompassing data on personal income, spending, and inflation measurements - favored by the Federal Reserve - will also be released on Good Friday when markets are closed. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will partake in a discussion at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference.

Significant gain was shown by gold stocks, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index rising 3.7% to hit a nearly three-month closing peak. The surge is attributed to an increase in gold price, which rose $13.50 to $2,212.70 an ounce.

Utilities, commercial real estate stocks, airlines, banking, and steel stocks also noted considerable growth throughout the day, aligning with the general industry trend.

Global stock markets witnessed a mixed day of trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.9%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both dropped by 1.3% and 1.4% respectively. European stocks, however, mostly increased.

In the bond market, treasuries heavily trended upward resulting in a 3.8 basis points decrease in the benchmark ten-year note yield to 4.196%.

Thursday's trading is expected to be influenced by reports on weekly jobless claims, Chicago business activities, and pending home sales.