Stocks charge higher day after Powell hints at more aggressive rate hikes [Video]

U.S. stocks advanced Tuesday as investors continued to weigh hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell alongside the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The S&P 500 rose 1% to 4,505.00 as of 11:48 a.m. ET, and Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 200 points, or about 0.6%, to 34,755.64. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.9% to 14,095.33. The moves follow a choppy session Monday that saw all three indexes cap last week’s winning streak to close lower after Powell signaled the central bank was prepared to act more aggressively to rein in inflation. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury climbed to yield 2.372%.

The Fed’s top leader reiterated in comments at the National Association for Business Economics Monday that policymakers will lean into higher short-term interest rates “as needed” to mitigate fast-rising price levels, with a goal of bringing inflation back down to an annual pace of about 2% while maintaining low unemployment.

“The choppiness is directly related to the comments,” Robert Schein, chief investment officer at Blanke Schein Wealth Management, told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday. “As soon as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that exact commentary today, markets sold off.”

The Fed is “going to tighten until something breaks,” he added. “That’s either breaking the back of inflation or growth is going to slow.”

Powell’s comments come just a week after investors met the central bank’s long-anticipated move to lift its benchmark Federal Funds Rate by 0.25% (to a target range of 0.25% to 0.50%) with temporary relief after the bump came in on par with what market participants had expected.

Despite providing some clarity to traders who for months have waited for the Fed to take steps forward on tightening monetary conditions, geopolitical turmoil in Eastern Europe and its economic toll continue to muddy the bank’s path ahead in fighting inflation. The Fed is also tasked with beginning quantitative tightening, or rolling assets off its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet.

The CPI print is “not going to look kind,” Allianz Investment Management’s head of ETFs Johan Grahn told Yahoo Finance Live. “That will be the indicator that the Fed is going to hang their hat on.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine also continued to be front-and-center for investors. As of Monday, Ukraine refused to surrender its heavily-attacked port city of Mariupol to Russian forces as the civilian death toll climbed. Energy and commodity prices spiked amid the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

U.S. crude oil prices soared more than 6% at session highs to top $112 per barrel, and Brent crude, the international standard, rose above $116 per barrel. Elsewhere in commodities markets, aluminum, palladium and wheat prices also gained on Monday.

Officials in both countries have sporadically signaled a possible negotiation but attempts at talks have so far proven unsuccessful. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned recently that if discussions with Vladimir Putin failed, it could mean the start of a third world war.

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11:45 a.m. ET: Stocks rebound after closing lower in previous session

Here were the main moves in markets as of 11:45 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +43.05 (+0.96%) to 4,504.23

• Dow (^DJI): +198.75 (+0.58%) to 34,751.74

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): +255.43 (+1.85%) to 14,093.89

• Crude (CL=F): -$2.47 (-2.20%) to $109.65 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): -$17.10 (-0.89%) to $1,912.40 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +6.4 bps to yield 2.3790%

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10:56 a.m. ET: Tesla opens Berlin Gigafactory, delivers first Model Y cars made in Europe

Tesla (TSLA) delivered the first 30 Model Y electric vehicles made at its newly-opened Berlin Gigafactory, its first plant in Europe.

The factors is expected to eventually produce 500,000 vehicles annually and employ 12,000 workers. The first Model Ys rolling off the new location will be the performance variant, costing 63,990 euros ($70,500) with a 514 km (320 miles) range. New orders from the plant start delivery in April, Tesla said.

“We view the opening of Giga Berlin as one of the biggest strategic endeavors for Tesla over the last decade and should further vault its market share within Europe over the coming years as more consumers aggressively head down the EV path,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said. “We cannot stress the production importance of Giga Berlin to the overall success of Tesla’s footprint in Europe and globally.”

Shares of Tesla were up 1.69% to $936.77 a piece as of 10:54 a.m. ET.

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10:45 a.m. ET: Japanese crypto exchange to list on Nasdaq in $1 billion SPAC merger

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. announced it will go public in the United States by merging with blank-check firm Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV Inc. in a deal valued at $1.25 billion.

The transaction is expected to result in proceeds of $237 million to the combined company from the cash held in the special-purpose acquisition company’s (SPAC) trust, assuming there are no redemptions.

Coincheck, based in Tokyo, is a marketplace for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and an exchange for digital assets such as non-fungible tokens. The company has about 1.5 million customers.

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9:52 a.m. ET: Carnival Cruise sales miss on COVID-hit demand

Carnival Corp. (CCL) reported quarterly revenue that fell below Wall Street estimates as a rise in COVID-19 infections due to the Omicron variant put a dent in demand for cruise vacations during the period.

The cruise line operator said in the first quarter of 2022 it experienced an impact on bookings for its near-term sailings, including higher cancellation rates attributed to an increase in pre-travel positive test results as the Omicron wave took its course.

In December and January, several cases of infections were identified on ships owned by Carnival.

The company reported a net loss that narrowed to $1.89 billion, or $1.66 per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, from $1.97 billion, or $1.80 per share, a year earlier. Bloomberg consensus data showed analysts projected a loss of $1.23 per share.

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9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks open higher as investors continue to weigh Fed inflation comments

Here’s how stocks opened at the start of Tuesday’s trading session:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +15.12 (+0.34%) to 4,476.30

• Dow (^DJI): +194.36 (+0.56%) to 34,747.35

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): +22.26 (+0.16%) to 13,860.72

• Crude (CL=F): +$0.32 (+0.29%) to $112.44 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): -$3.80 (-0.20%) to $1,925.70 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +5.7 bps to yield 2.3720%

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7:23 a.m. ET: Bitcoin hits $42,000 as hedge fund Bridgewater plans foray into crypto

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) topped the $42,000 mark following news Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund, is set to invest in the digital asset.

The coin’s price jumped 3.7% to $42,888.33 Tuesday morning as of 7:20 a.m. ET.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) also gained on the news, rising 3.7% to $3,022.01 as of early Tuesday. The cryptocurrency advanced 16.5% in a week to $3,020 after its co-founder Vitalik Buterin appeared on the front cover of Time magazine.

Bridgewater’s plan to invest in bitcoin underscores the faith institutional finance has in a long-term upward trajectory for the cryptocurrency. The hedge fund is one of several professional investment management firms adding bitcoin to their investment portfolios.

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7:00 a.m. ET: Contracts on S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq edge higher after Powell remarks

Here were the main moves in markets ahead of Tuesday’s open:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +16.00 points (+0.36%) to 4,468.25

• Dow futures (YM=F): +169.00 points (+0.49%) to 34,605.00

• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +46.25 point (+0.32%) to 14,416.75

• Crude (CL=F): -$0.62(-0.55%) to $111.50 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): -$1.90 (-10.00%) to $1,927.60 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.00 bps to yield 2.315%

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6:00 p.m. ET Monday: Stock futures tick slightly higher after indexes snap winning streak

Here’s where markets were trading heading into the overnight session Monday:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +4.00 points (+0.09%) to 4,456.25

• Dow futures (YM=F): +47.00 points (+0.14%) to 34,483.00

• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +16.75 point (+0.12%) to 14,387.25

• Crude (CL=F): +$0.78 (+0.70%) to $112.90 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +$6.80 (+0.35%) to $1,936.30 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +4.3 bps to yield 2.191%

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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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