Benzinga - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed sharply higher on Wednesday following comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark rate by 0.25%, marking the central bank's second consecutive policy downshift.
On the economic data front, the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 46.9 in January from a preliminary reading of 46.8, while private businesses in the US added 106,000 jobs in January.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) shares rose sharply in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter and announced a $40 billion increase in its buyback authorization.
Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with information technology and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest surge on Wednesday. However, energy stocks bucked the overall market trend, dropping around 1.9% during the session.
The Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.16% to close at 12,363.10 on Wednesday, amid gains in shares of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).
The S&P 500 gained 1.05%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.02% to 34,092.96 in the previous session.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 7.9% to 17.87 points on Wednesday.
What is CBOE Volatility Index?
The CBOE Volatility Index, popularly known as VIX, is a measure of the equity market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index call and put options.
Read Next: 5 Most Expensive Materials Stocks You Should Worry About
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.