Shares of technology companies rallied amid signs that the Federal Reserve was nearing the end of its inflation fight.
There remains work to be done but manufactured products have seen disinflation, and there's reason to believe that services will follow suit, said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in a press conference after the statement.
There remains a "risk that the Fed slows or stops its rate hikes too soon and that there's another flare-up in inflation at year-end," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at financial advisory Wealthspire.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices rallied after the chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected data center chip sales in the fourth quarter. "Earnings have been: fine corporate chieftains have been very cautious in their outlook as they ought to be, but I'm not sure [earnings growth] is a big issue right now," said Mr. Pursche.
A wave of layoffs continued in the tech sector. Match Group plans to lay off about 8% of its work force. Electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive plans to initiate another round of layoffs in an effort to conserve cash.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms rallied in late trading after forecasting growth in excess of Wall Street expectations. Shares of Meta ticked up during the regular session after a U.S. judge allowed the company to acquire virtual-reality startup Within Unlimited, a setback for the Federal Trade Commission, which had attempted to block the deal as part of its trust-busting stance against Big Tech.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-01-23 1742ET
