US Market ends on firm note

The US stocks moved notably higher on Tuesday, 10 January 2023, with the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P500 indexes all settling on a firm note as optimism surrounding China's reopening and as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell refrained in a speech from commenting on rate policy.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index surged 186.45 points, or 0.56%, to 33,704.10. The S&P500 index added 27.16 points, or 0.7%, to 3,919.25. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 106.98 points, or 1.01%, to 10,742.63.

Total 10 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P500 Index. Communication services was the top performing sector, rising 1.29%, followed by consumer discretionary (up 1.26%) and materials (up 1.02%).

In his first public appearance of the year, Powell said at a forum sponsored by the Swedish central bank that the Fed's independence is essential for it to battle inflation. Fed Chair Powell emphasized the need for the central bank to be free of political influence while it tackles high inflation. Powell noted in a speech that stabilizing prices requires making tough decisions that can be unpopular politically.

Meanwhile, recent comments by other Fed officials have supported the view that the central bank needs to remain aggressive in raising interest rates to control inflation. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday the bank will have to raise interest rates further to combat high inflation.

San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly said she expects interest rates to rise beyond 5% this year. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic also said interest rates need to be raised above 5%.

Among Indian ADR, HDFC Bank was down 2.7% at $65.58, Wipro fell 0.2% to $4.73, INFOSYS was down 0.94% at $17.83, ICICI Bank shed 0.52% to $21.25, Dr Reddy's labs added 0.19% to $53.23, Azure Power Global added 4.03% to $4.91, Tata Motors added 4.8% at $25.18, and WNS Holdings inclined 0.54% to $83.28.

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