NEW YORK: Wall Street advanced on Friday, taking indexes closer to a strong weekly finish, after President Donald Trump’s interim pick for a Federal Reserve governor post kept expectations alive for a dovish policy.
At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119.33 points, or 0.27%, to 44,087.97, the S&P 500 gained 39.20 points, or 0.62%, to 6,379.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 167.47 points, or 0.79%, to 21,410.34.
Trump on Thursday nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran to a short-term board seat following Adriana Kugler’s abrupt exit last week, as he narrowed his shortlist to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15. Miran, who is often aligned with Trump, has previously implied that Powell was “too late” in lowering rates. On Thursday, Bloomberg News also reported that Fed Governor Christopher Waller was emerging as a leading contender for the chair post.
Investors remain conflicted about the Fed’s leadership overhaul, balancing concerns about the institution’s independence against growing anticipation of deeper rate cuts ahead.
“The reality is the president can’t force a chair to step down or put any additional pressure to make the governors to force rates lower,” said Phil Blancato, CEO, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.
“This is about him putting in folks who are going to be more dovish and ultimately (lead) to deeper rate cuts, whether they’re justified or not.”
In earnings-related moves, Gilead Sciences surged 8.6% following its raising of the full-year financial outlook.
Expedia jumped 4.4% after raising its annual forecast for gross bookings and revenue growth.