Stock Market Optimism as Federal Reserve Hints at Rate Hike Pause

The big numbers that show how well companies are doing made the stock market happy on Thursday. People thought the Federal Reserve might stop making it more expensive for companies to borrow money.

The boss of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said some words that made people think they might not raise rates anymore. Rates are like a price for borrowing money. If they go up, it can make things harder for companies. So, when people heard this news, they felt better about the stock market.

There are big companies that are growing fast, like Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Tesla. They made more money, and that’s why their stock prices went up. People who invest in these companies made more money too.

There are different groups of companies in the stock market. Some are about homes and buildings, and some are about things people like to buy. All of these groups went up on Thursday.

People who trade stocks are guessing about what the Federal Reserve will do next. They think there is only a small chance that they will raise rates in December. They also think there is a small chance they will raise rates in January. They think there is a big chance they won’t raise rates anymore.

Companies tell people how well they are doing by talking about their money. One company called Qualcomm said it will make more money than people thought. Another company called PayPal said it will make more money too.

Starbucks, which makes coffee, did better than people thought in October. Another company called Palantir Technologies said it will make more money in the next few months.

But there were some companies that didn’t do so well. Moderna, which is making a vaccine for COVID-19, said it will sell less than they thought next year. But Eli Lilly, another company, did better than people thought this year.

Apple, the company that makes iPhones, is going to tell everyone how well it did soon.

The stock market is like a big game with numbers. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 307.02 points, which is a lot. The S&P 500 went up by 51.87 points, and the Nasdaq Composite went up by 172.71 points.

There is a number that shows how scared people are in the stock market. It’s called the Cboe Volatility index. It went down a lot on Thursday.

The stock market in the U.S. has been doing well this month. It was not as good last month because people were worried about interest rates and problems in the world.

The number of people who don’t have a job went up a little last week. This means it’s still hard for some people to find work.

We will know more about how many jobs there are on Friday. This will help us understand better what is happening with jobs.

There were more companies doing well than doing badly on Thursday. This is a good sign for the stock market. The S&P index had more new highs than new lows. The Nasdaq had more new highs too.

Also Read: Stock Market Update: Wall Street Eyes Fed Decision with Modest Gains