Wall Street inched higher before the bell today, according to the Associated Press, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank would not hesitate to raise its benchmark borrowing rate again if inflation continues to linger. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each rose about 0.2%.
Bond yields came back down after jumping Thursday on a report that suggested the U.S. job market remains remarkably solid. They rose further when the U.S. government announced the results of a sale of $24 billion in Treasury bonds and pushed even higher after Powell’s statement.
Stocks had been higher earlier Thursday, with the S&P 500 expected to reach its longest winning streak in 19 years, but it quickly sagged as Treasury yields rose. The 10-year Treasury yield settled back to 4.58% early this morning from 4.64% late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury inched down to 4.99% from 5.03% late Thursday.
In energy trading, crude oil prices regained some of the big losses from earlier in the week.
A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude added 80 cents to $76.54 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 93 cents to $80.94 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 151.41 Japanese yen from 151.34 yen.
