Dow Jones rises 431 points as markets stage rally after losing streaks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 431 points on Tuesday following a seven-week losing streak. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

May 17 (UPI) — U.S. markets rallied Tuesday behind surging tech stocks as major indexes have been mired in weeks-long losing streaks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 431.17 points, while the S&P 500 rose 2.02% and the Nasdaq Composite closed the day up 2.76%.

The S&P 500 has been on a six-week losing streak, while the Dow has fallen for seven consecutive weeks as the S&P 500 is down 14.2% for the year and the Dow has fallen 10.1%.

Semiconductor stocks were on the rise with AMD stock gaining 8.73%, Micron Technology increasing 5.69%, Nvidia climbing 5.29% and Qualcomm rising 4.32%.

Travel stocks also contributed to Tuesday’s gains as United Airlines rose 7.88%, American Airlines gained 7.67% and Delta climbed 6.68%.

Home Depot stock climbed 1.68% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results, while Walmart shares declined 11.38% after it missed on earnings.

Investors on Tuesday also reacted to a Commerce Department report showing that retail sales rose 0.9% in the month of April, despite rising inflation.

“The desire to spend is strong among U.S. consumers, Harris Financial Group managing partner Jamie Cox said, according to Yahoo Finance. “Americans have broken the shackles of COVID and aren’t going back. Numbers like this call into question any forecasts of a 2022 recession in the United States.”

In the face of rising inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates until prices begin to fall, even at the risk of “some pain” in the form of economic slowdown.

“Restoring price stability is an unconditional need — it’s something we have to do,” Powell said during the Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” summit.

The economy doesn’t work for workers, or for businesses, or for anybody without price stability,” he added. “It’s the bedrock of the economy and it’s something we need to do if we want to have the labor market we all want to have.”

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