US stocks advance after Fed chair's speech

U.S. stocks indexes closed higher Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes finishing at fresh peaks, following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole central bankers' symposium.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 242.68 points, or 0.69 percent, to 35,455.80. The S&P 500 increased 39.37 points, or 0.88 percent, to 4,509.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 183.69 points, or 1.23 percent, to 15,129.50.

U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powel said Friday during the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium that the Fed could start tapering asset purchases this year as the central bank is carefully assessing the risks from the Delta variant.

The Fed chief also cautioned that a move to start tapering asset purchases should not be interpreted as a sign that rate hikes would soon follow.

Fed Chair Powell said the U.S. central bank will be carefully assessing incoming data and the evolving risks, perhaps offering himself more wiggle room before its September 21-22 meeting to digest further evidence of the health of the economy, including a coming jobs reports for August.

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