Stocks jump on Powell’s comments, oil rally

Stocks on Wednesday were in a holding pattern until 2:00 pm EST when the U.S. Fed Jerome Powell announced a 0.50% interest hike, which Wall Street had been expecting. However, markets on both side of the border soared when Powell ruled out a future 75-basis point hike, though he declared that another 50-point move will follow. The S&P rallied 2.99%, the Nasdaq 3.19% and the Dow 2.82%. Every Dow component and stock was up.

Major movers were AMD by 8.9% in heavy trading, Apple up 4.02%, Nvidia 3.16%, Bank of America 4%, Tesla 5%, Blackrock 5.61% and Intel at 3.15%. Unlike recent days, there was little red on the screen. Lyft tanked 30% after reporting earnings and its forecast while Uber fell 4.58% after its own report. The U.S. 10-year yield slipped to 2.919% while Bitcoin jumped 5.5% to nearly $40,000.

The EU is pushing to phase out Russian oil purchases which propelled crude oil prices and helped lift the TSX by 1.35%. Both WTI and WCS surged by $5 to $108 and $94.50 respectively. Big gainers included Canopy up 10.15%, Meg Energy at 8.57%, Crew Energy soaring 13.84%, Cenovus at 3.42% and Bombardier up 6.45%. Major laggards were IAMGOLD sliding 25% after a negative cost report, Home Capital Group falling 8.87% and Bausch Health down 3.68%.

💾 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q) +8.9%
🍎 Apple (AAPL-Q) +4.02%
💾 Nvidia Corp (NVDA-Q) +3.16%
🏛 Bank of America (BAC-N) +4%
🚗 Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA-Q) +5%
🏛 Blackrock Inc. (BLK-N) +5.61%
💾 Intel (INTC-Q) +3.15%
🚕 Lyft (LYFT-Q) -30%
🚖 Uber (UBER-N) -4.58%
🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) +5.5%
🌿 Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) +10.15%
🛢 MEG Energy Corp (MEG-T) +8.57%
🛢 Crew Energy Inc. (CR-T) +13.84%
🛢 Cenovus Energy (CVE-T) +3.42%
🚂 Bombardier Inc (B) (BBD.B-T) +6.45%
🥇 Iamgold Corp (IMG-T) -25%
🏛 Home Capital Group (HCG-T) -8.87%
💊 Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC-T) -3.68%