Wall Street starts important Fed week in green | Economy

Stock exchanges in New York closed with gains on Monday. Sentiment improved especially towards the end of the session. Investors were waiting for the upcoming policy meeting of the US central bank umbrella. The Federal Reserve begins its two-day interest rate meeting on Tuesday. The interest rate decision will follow on Wednesday and interest rates are expected to be raised again by 0.75 percentage point to combat high inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6 percent higher at 31,019.68 points. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to 3899.89 points and tech gauge Nasdaq gained 0.8 percent to 11,535.02 points.

At the beginning of last week there were hopes in the financial markets that the Fed might raise interest rates a little less aggressively, but that hope was dashed by a disappointing inflation figure. Investors fear that the interest rate hikes by the central banks will trigger a global recession. Those fears were further fueled last Friday by a FedEx profit alarm, which opens the books later this week.

The parcel carrier closed on Monday with a gain of 1.2 percent, after it lost more than a fifth of its stock market value on Friday. Due to its logistics activities, the company is seen as a barometer for economic developments. FedEx noticed that package shipments have declined due to deteriorating economic conditions.

Take-Two Interactive, the company behind game developer Rockstar Games, made up for a previous loss and gained 0.7 percent. The company is the victim of a hacking attack. A hacker has published images of the highly anticipated game Grand Theft Auto VI. It is one of the biggest leaks in the gaming sector ever.

Crypto exchange Coinbase lost 5.5 percent after a sharp decline in bitcoin. The world’s largest digital currency plunged to its lowest level since 2020. Other cryptocurrencies such as ether and XRP also fell as crypto investors have become more cautious due to higher interest rates.

There was also attention for fashion brand Ralph Lauren, which expects to generate more turnover in the coming years, helped by price increases and more buyers. The stock closed 3 percent higher.

The euro stood at $1,0021 from $1,003 earlier in the day. A barrel of American oil became 0.5 percent more expensive at $ 85.53. Brent oil cost 0.6 percent more at $91.84 a barrel.

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