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US STOCKS-Dow notches record high as Wall Street cheers Powell's speech
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US STOCKS-Dow notches record high as Wall Street cheers Powell's speech
Aug 22, 2025 1:53 PM

*

Indexes up: Dow 1.89%; S&P 1.52%; Nasdaq 1.88%

*

Traders now see a near 90% chance of September rate cut

*

S&P 500 snaps five-day losing streak

*

Intuit falls after forecasting Q1 revenue growth below

estimates

(Adds individual stock moves, gainers and losers, volume data)

By Shashwat Chauhan, Sanchayaita Roy and Carolina Mandl

Aug 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes ended

higher on Friday, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record

closing high, as investors piled into stocks after U.S. Federal

Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a near-term interest-rate

cut during his Jackson Hole Symposium speech.

His comments paved the way for a potential rate cut at the

Fed's September meeting, although Powell stressed the importance

of jobs and inflation data due before then.

"Powell did what central bankers do best at Jackson Hole

- he kept the door open," said Nigel Green, chief executive of

deVere Group. "A cut in September would reassure households and

businesses that the central bank is not asleep at the wheel.

Delaying only raises the odds of a harder landing."

Traders boosted bets on a September rate cut after

Powell's comments, now placing a nearly 90% chance of a

reduction, versus about 75% before Powell's remarks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 846.24 points,

or 1.89%, to 45,631.74, surpassing its most recent record close

on December 4, 2024. The S&P 500 gained 96.74 points, or

1.52%, to 6,466.91 and the Nasdaq Composite gained

396.22 points, or 1.88%, to 21,496.54.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sub-sectors traded higher, with

consumer discretionary the biggest gainer, up 3.18%.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index soared 2.7%,

while most megacap growth stocks also jumped. Tesla led

gains with 6.2%.

The rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Index surged 4.1%,

hitting its highest level so far this year.

With gains on Friday, the S&P 500 snapped a five-day losing

streak after a broad selloff in heavyweight technology stocks

pressured U.S. equities this week.

For the week, both the S&P and Dow ended with gains, while

the Nasdaq fell 0.6% as investors sold this week megacap tech

stocks and rotated into less-pricey stocks.

U.S. stocks have rebounded sharply from April lows - when

markets were rattled by President Donald Trump's tariff

announcements. Recently, indexes have been getting back up to

record highs.

A spate of resilient earnings, optimism around trade deals

and growing chances of interest-rate cuts have been some of the

main gain drivers, although some concerns persist.

"Investors are cheering Powell's comments like it's the

start of a rate-cut parade. But one cut won't move the needle on

consumer spending. The bigger question is whether this marks a

true pivot in Fed policy - or if rising tariffs will force it to

slam the brakes before that shift even begins," said Zak

Stambor, senior analyst for retail and ecommerce at Emarketer.

Earlier in the day, UBS Global Wealth Management lifted its

year-end target for the S&P 500 for the second time in two

months, betting on corporate earnings strength, easing trade

tensions and expectations of interest-rate cuts.

Among other top movers, Intel ( INTC ) gained 5.5% as the White House

was expected to announce on Friday the acquisition of a 10%

stake in the company. Coinbase also soared 6.5% as

investors scooped up crypto-related shares after Powell's

speech.

Intuit dropped roughly 5% after the TurboTax-maker

forecast first-quarter revenue growth below analysts' estimates

due to weak performance at its Mailchimp marketing platform.

Workday shed 3% after the human resources software

provider provided an in-line outlook for the current quarter.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 9.43-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. There were 590 new highs and 42 new lows on the

NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 166 new highs and 47 new

lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.93 billion shares,

compared with the 17.08 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.

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