US: Stocks end higher, shrugging off Powell firing fears

Wall Street stocks finished higher on Wednesday, shrugging off a mid-session swoon after US President Donald Trump denied plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Major indices had moved suddenly negative following reports that a dismissal could be imminent. But they recovered quickly once Trump ruled out firing Powell, for now.

Trump, who has bitterly attacked the Fed chair for months, said such a move was “highly unlikely” and that “I’m not talking about that” when asked if he would fire Powell.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 20,730.49, a third straight closing record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 per cent to 44,254.78, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.3 per cent to 6,263.70.

“It’s very clear that the market wants to go higher,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments, who described investor reaction to Trump’s mixed messaging on Powell as typical of a bullish tilt.

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“Every time we get bad news thrown at it, the market shrugs it off and continues to rally, including today,” Sarhan said.

Otherwise, markets absorbed a generally benign wholesale inflation report. The producer price index was unchanged on a month-on-month basis, beating analysts’ expectations and cooling from a 0.3 per cent rise in May.

The Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions, however, pointed to growing impacts from Trump’s myriad tariffs.

Many firms said they passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers due to tariffs, while also expressing expectations that costs will remain elevated.

Among individual companies, Goldman Sachs jumped 0.8 per cent after quarterly earnings easily topped analyst estimates.

CEO David Solomon predicted an uptick in dealmaking, pointing to greater “confidence level on the part of CEOs, that significant scaled industry consolidation is possible.”

Ford slumped 2.9 per cent after disclosing that it would account for US$570 million in costs connected to fuel injectors in several models from recent years, including Bronco Sport vehicles from 2021 to 2024.

But Johnson & Johnson surged 6.2 per cent as it lifted its full-year forecast after quarterly earnings topped estimates. Analysts noted that the health care company also lowered its estimate for the cost hit from tariffs. AFP