- US stocks climbed as investors tried to power past hawkish comments from Jerome Powell a day earlier.
- The Fed chief warned Thursday that further policy tightening is still on the table.
US stocks climbed Friday after the S&P 500 snapped an eight-day winning streak in Thursday's session.
Investors are trying to power past hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as he cautioned that more rate hikes are still on the table and the central bank isn't convinced it's done enough to declare mission accomplished.
"If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so," Powell said. He cautioned that adding that the Fed must not be "misled" by a string of promising inflation readings.
Cryptocurrency markets, meanwhile, continued to rise following a strong gain on Thursday in the price of bitcoin. Ether and bitcoin have both seen double-digit rallies this week on excitement around the potential approval for spot ETFs, as well as on supply dynamics and events on the horizon, like 2024's bitcoin halving.
BlackRock on Thursday filed an application for a spot ether ETF. It joins the asset management giant's application for a bitcoin ETF in line waiting for approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"If act one is a spot Bitcoin ETF, then act two is a spot Ethereum ETF," Diogo Mónica, co-founder of crypto firm Anchorage Digital, said in emailed comments.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 4,359.14, up 0.27%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,976.71, up 0.25% (+82.56 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,574.82, up 0.42%
Here's what else is going on:
- The 30-year Treasury yield rebounded Thursday amid sagging demand in the latest government bond auction.
- Ether spiked 10% to its highest level in six months.
- David Einhorn warned that stocks could slide and a recession could strike if foreign wars drive up gas prices.
- Here's how bitcoin has fared against the best-performing tech stocks and why it keeps rallying.
- MicroStrategy stock is up 250% this year. Michael Saylor said bitcoin allows his firm to compete with giants like the Magnificent 7 for investors' attention.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.28% to $76.68 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved higher 1.19% to $80.90 a barrel.
- Gold edged lower 0.98% to $1,950.50 per ounce.
- The 10-year yield moved lower four basis points to 4.59%.
- Bitcoin climbed 1.80% to $37,016.