US stocks rebound from losses stirred by Fed chair's hawkish shift

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened strong Wednesday, bouncing back from losses during the previous session after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shifted his stance to a hawkish mode.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 260 points, or 0.76%, to 34,744 at 9.40 a.m. The blue chip index lost 652 points Tuesday.

The S&P 500 increased 50 points, or 1.08%, to 4,606 after falling 88 points in the previous session.

The Nasdaq soared 170 points, or 1.1%, to 15,708, after the tech-heavy fell 245 points the day before.

Major indices were quick to shrug off losses the day after Powell shifted from a dovish to a hawkish tone about the central bank's accommodative monetary policy.

"The economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high. It is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases,  perhaps a few months sooner," Powell said in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

He said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members will discuss the possibility of concluding tapering quicker than expected at their next meeting on Dec. 14 - 15.

Despite climbing above 27 on Tuesday, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 12.4% to 23.81. The dollar index fell 0.22% to 95.78.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, on the other hand, was up 2.47% to 1.477%.

Crude prices were up more than 2% as the oil market awaits OPEC's decision about supply cuts in the face of rising demand risks amid the new coronavirus variant, omicron.

Brent crude rose 2.6% to $71.05 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.5% to $67.85.

Precious metals were mixed with gold adding 0.8% to $1,788 an ounce but silver losing 0.6% to $22.69.