Wall Street climbs as retreating oil prices boost investor sentiments

Major US stock indexes moved higher on Thursday as a pullback in crude oil prices and lower Treasury yields improved investor sentiment following the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate decision.

At 09:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316.08 points, or 0.59%, to 51,763.46, the S&P 500 added 71.28 points, or 0.94%, to 7,623.09, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 321.49 points, or 1.25%, to 26,302.28.

Markets also drew support from confidence in Fed Chair Kevin Warsh after the central bank raised interest rates for the first time under his leadership. The decision indicated that policymakers remain focused on bringing inflation under control despite pressure from President Donald Trump for lower borrowing costs.

The Fed has also signalled that additional rate increases could be required in the months ahead if price pressures remain elevated.

“We have a Fed chair who has credibility this morning, which is important,” said FHN Financial’s Chris low. “He’s a new guy, he proved he has what it takes to take inflation seriously.”

Oil prices extend decline

Crude oil prices fell for a second straight session, providing some relief to investors concerned about the impact of elevated energy costs on inflation and economic growth.

Brent crude futures declined almost 3% to $102.90 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.8% to $100.62.

Key Stock Movers

Technology shares were among the stocks supporting the market’s advance, with Nvidia and Amazon each gaining

Stocks connected to the cryptocurrency industry also advanced after US securities regulators announced a five-year exemption covering tokenised stock trading.

Robinhood and Circle Internet Group each gained around 3.5%, while Coinbase rose about 1.2%.

Shares of so-called neocloud companies also recorded gains during Thursday’s session.

Nebius and IREN were both up roughly 1.4%.

Fluence Energy shares dropped more than 16% after the company reduced its revenue forecast for fiscal 2026.