Wall Street rises for fifth straight day

Wall Street is on a winning streak. US stocks are surging on the strength of dovish comments from US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell.

Fed chair reassures markets

In an interview at the Economic Club in Washington, D.C., Powell signaled that the Fed may delay rate increases based on the momentum on Wall Street. His comments seem to predict that the US central bank will exercise caution before implementing more rate hikes because of low inflation.

‘Particularly with inflation low and under control, we have the ability to be patient and see which of those two narratives is going to be the story of 2019,’ said Powell.

His comments seem to echo the consensus reached by the Federal Open Market Commission (FOMC) during a recent meeting.

‘Many participants expressed the view that, especially in an environment of muted inflation pressures, the Committee could afford to be patient about further policy firming’, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Commission meeting.

Powell also gave positive statements that calmed investors when he said recession speculation was premature and that the US economy is still strong.

‘I don’t see a recession. The US economy is solid,’ said Powell.

Many investors want the Fed to not raise interest rates in fear that mortgage interest could rise and the housing market could decrease.

What’s next for Wall Street

Despite the good news, there is still concern in the US market. The US-China trade talks concluded without a specific agreement announced.There is also a downturn in retail stocks after disappointing sales results from US major department stores. For now, however, the volatility on Wall Street has calmed down.