Wall Street Rallies on Rate Hike Fears Easing, Bitcoin Surges
The US stock market rallied on Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller hinted that interest rates might be kept steady in September. This change in sentiment sent investors scrambling, causing the price of Bitcoin to surge by 4.6% to around $80,900.
Crypto-linked equities also saw significant gains, with Robinhood Markets Inc. rising 14.9%, Circle Internet Group Inc. gaining 14.9%, and Strategy Inc. climbing 13.7%. The overall crypto complex was boosted by the weaker dollar, which dropped to a near two-week low.
The tech sector also performed well, with Tesla Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Microsoft Corp. all seeing significant gains. Snowflake Inc. led the charge in software, jumping 21.9% after posting strong quarterly results. The company's product revenue rose 37% year-over-year to $1.49 billion.
The rally was broad-based, with the S&P 500 rising 0.96%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 1.12%, and the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.02%. However, not all sectors were immune to the market's mood swings, with semiconductors taking a hit due to weak results from Broadcom Inc. and Micron Technology Inc.
The dollar index fell to 99, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased to 4.75%. Gold prices also rose, reaching $4,492 an ounce as investors sought safe-haven assets.