Wall Street saw stock indexes rise for the second day in a row as the banking sector stabilized and investors believed the U.S. central bank would restrict the speed of interest rate hikes.
- Dow Jones index rose 0.98 percent to 32,560 points
- S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent to 4,002 points
- Nasdaq index rose 1.58 percent to 11,860 points
Share prices rose in eight of the 11 most important sectors of the S&P 500 index, the most in energy, thanks to the recovery of oil prices after last week’s sharp decline.
The value of shares in the banking sector also recorded a large increase, on average higher than 3.5 percent. Nevertheless, the S&P index of the banking sector is still in the red since the beginning of the month by about 18 percent.
Shares of First Republic Bank, which has come into focus following the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank, rose 29 percent after news that several of the largest U.S. banks were considering investing in it.
The market’s growth was also due to expectations that due to problems in the banking system and easing inflationary pressure, the American central bank would slow down the pace of interest rate increases.
Lower increase than expected
Until recently, the Federal Reserve was expected to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points this session. However, now many believe that the increase will be 0.25 percentage points, and some believe that the Fed will not raise interest rates this month.
Share prices also rose on European stock exchanges:
- London FTSE index strengthened by 1.79 percent to 7,536 points
- Frankfurt DAX increased by 1.75 percent, reaching 15,195 points
- Paris CAC rose by 1.42 percent, 7,112 points
