S&P 500 surges above 3,000 for first time as Powell says open to rate cuts

The S&P 500 surged above 3,000 for the first time, and Treasuries rose with gold after Jerome Powell signaled an openness to rate cuts amid ongoing uncertainty in the economy, cementing market bets for easing at July’s Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average joined the S&P 500 at an all-time high after the Fed chairman said in prepared remarks that downside risks to the economy remain, even after Friday’s strong jobs report forced investors to recalibrate rate-cut expectations.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell to 2.04 per cent after climbing above 2.10 per cent for the first time in a month. The dollar weakened. Oil rose above $59 a barrel. “Powell’s prepared testimony struck a decidedly dovish cord,” Ian Lyngen, head of US rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note.