US stocks rally as Fed hikes rates 75 basis points instead of 100

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks rallied late Wednesday to close in positive territory after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates 75 basis points instead of the 100 basis points some investors feared.

The blue-chip Dow jumped 436 points, or 1.37% to close at 32,197. The S&P 500 rose 102 points, or 2.6%, to 4,023.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 469 points, or 4%, to finish at 12,032.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said "it will likely be appropriate to slow the pace of (interest rate) increases" at some point but he signaled that a higher rate hike could come at the Fed's next meeting in September.

He called the current rate increase the "right magnitude" but said the central bank would not hesitate to make a larger rate hike move. "While another unusually large increase could be appropriate at our next meeting, that is a decision on the data we get between now and then," he said.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 5.9% to 23.24. The 10-year US Treasury yield was flat at 2.787%.

The dollar index was down 0.7% to 106.46. The euro was up 0.8% to almost $1.02 against the dollar.

Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 1% to $1,736 and silver soaring 2.5% to $19.10.

Oil prices were up more than 3%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was at $102.5 per barrel for a 3.1% gain, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $98.2 -- up 3.4%.