US equity markets soared after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said larger +75-basis point interest rate hikes were not in play - Dow rallied +932-points or +2.81%, booking its best daily percentage gain since 9 November, 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data and with all 30 index constituents advancing. Stocks seen as economic bellwethers performed well, with Home Depot Inc and Caterpillar Inc rising +3.39% and +4.20%, respectively. Bank stocks also gained ground, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc up +3.0% and JPMorgan Chase & Co +3.3%. The broader S&P500 +2.99%, logging its best daily percentage climbs since 18 May, 2020. Energy (up +4.11%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard for a second consecutive session to lead all eleven key sectors higher, with Chevron Corp rising +3.14% and Exxon Mobil Corp +3.98%. Communication Services (+3.68%), Information Technology (+3.51%), Materials (+3.24%) and Financials (+3.02%) all climbed over >3%. The Nasdaq jumped +3.19%, the technology-centric index’s best daily performance since 16 March. Apple Inc (up +4.1%) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (+3.76%) gaining more than >3.5% each. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc rallied +9.1% after the chip maker comfortably topped US$5B in quarterly revenue for the first time and lifted their full year outlook after the close of the previous session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +2.69%. Lyft Inc tumbled -29.91% after the ridesharing company provided weak guidance for the current quarter as it expects to invest in driver supply. Rival Uber Technologies Inc dropped -4.65%.
