The U.S. stock market opened cautiously higher Thursday as investors looked at the minutiae of the Federal Reserve's decision to hike interest rates.
The Dow rose 6 points, or 0.2%, to 26,391.28, while the broader S&P 500 index rose 5.65, or 0.19%, to 2,911.62. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 45.70, or 0.57%, to 8,036.06.
The Fed boosted rates by a quarter point Wednesday, but its statement and Fed chief Jerome Powell’s comments left a lot to discuss about whether the central bank is likely to take a more hawkish or dovish stance.
Bank stocks were down again following a post-Fed selloff on concerns that rate rises won’t be picking up, despite strong economic growth.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) fell 0.3%, Citigroup (NYSE:C) was flat and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) lost 0.25%.
In tech, shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose nearly 2% after positive analyst commentary. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell 0.3%, while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up 1.2%.
In earnings news, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) stock fell 6% after the company missed its fiscal first-quarter sales and earnings estimates.
In Europe, stocks were mostly higher. Germany’s DAX rose 26.10 points, or 0.21%, while in France the CAC 40 gained 12.35 points, or 0.22%, and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 22.85 points, or 0.30%. Meanwhile the pan-European EURO STOXX 50 gained 7.62 points, or 0.22%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 slumped 24.65 points, or 0.26%.
In commodities, Gold futures fell 0.95% to $1,187.70 a troy ounce, while crude oil futures increased 0.87% to $72.19 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.54% to 94.70.
