Wall Street ended the week with another violent reversal, following a down day for stocks with one of the sharpest daily increases of the bull market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both up more than 3%, while the Nasdaq surged more than 4%. That follows losses yesterday of more than 3% for Nasdaq and more than 2% for the S&P 500.
Benchmarks started the day up sharply on a stellar jobs report, which showed rising wages and an increase in labor participation, quieting concerns of a recession on the horizon.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell helped send stocks up higher with comments that policymakers “will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves.”
Powell added that they will be “listening carefully” to financial markets and “will be prepared to adjust policy quickly and flexibility and use all of our tools to support the economy should that be appropriate.”
Concerns that the Fed would move ahead with interest rate hikes despite headwinds facing the economy have helped send stocks lower in recent months, prompting a chorus of critical voices to join President Trump in calling for a pause.
Powell’s comments on Friday were evidently enough to reassure investors that policymakers are listening.