The New York stock market started off strong, waiting for the results of the March monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Amid recent market declines, expectations for the 'Fed Put' and bargain buying supported the market rebound.
On the 19th (local time), at 10:30 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a group of blue-chip stocks, recorded 41,825.47, an increase of 244.16 points (0.59%) from the previous session.
The benchmark S&P 500 index rose by 37.24 points (0.66%) to 5,651.90, while the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index was up 151.36 points (0.86%) at 17,655.47.
The volatility index (VIX) tracked by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) indicated 20.85, down 0.85 points (3.92%) from the previous day.
The three major indices had all closed lower the previous day. Following a rapid rebound over the prior two trading days, a selling pressure emerged as the market faced downward pressure from higher-than-expected import price increases and persistent tariff concerns. The S&P 500 index avoided re-entering correction territory (a decline of more than 10% from a peak), but the Nasdaq index has been stuck in correction territory since the 10th.
On this day, at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release the results of its March meeting, along with a dot plot containing the interest rate outlook from FOMC voting members and the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP). Following that, Chair Powell is expected to provide interpretation and explanation of the current economic situation that underpinned the monetary policy decision.
According to the FedWatch Tool from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME Group), there is a 99.0% probability that the Fed will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its current level (4.25–4.50%).
However, market participants are closely watching whether Chair Powell will maintain the outlook for two rate cuts (each by 2.5%) within the year.
On this day, shares of Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, opened unusually up nearly 7%. Shares of Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company producing HIV prevention treatments, dropped over 3% due to reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to significantly cut HIV-related budgets.
The large technology shares group 'Magnificent 7' (M7), which had fallen together the previous day, opened higher today. Tesla rose over 2%, Apple over 1%, and Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet (parent company of Google), and Amazon were up less than 1%, while Meta (parent company of Facebook) remained flat.
European markets are showing a downward trend today. The pan-European index STOXX 600 dropped by 0.03%, the German DAX index by 0.69%, and the British FTSE index by 0.04%.