June 21 (UPI) — U.S. markets rallied on Tuesday as markets continued to process the Federal Reserve‘s aggressive efforts to combat inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 641.47 points, or 2.15%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.45% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.51% at the end of Tuesday’s session after markets were closed on Monday in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.
Major indexes posted their 10th losing session in their past 11 last week with the S&P 500 turning in its worst week since 2020 as investors weighed the possibility of a recession after the Fed ordered a rare .75% interest rate hike.
Tuesday’s rebound saw 464 members of the S&P 500 finish the day in the green, with energy as the best performing sector — up 5.2%.
“The outstanding question is whether this is simply a bounce or the bottom,” Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research said. “I think that this could certainly be a bounce but not the bottom because the one missing ingredient is a fear-based capitulation sell-off.”
Brent crude oil futures — the international benchmark — traded 1.1% higher to $115.32 per barrel, while the U.S. crude oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, climbed 2% to $111.55 per barrel to lead the rise in energy stocks.
Shares of Diamondback energy gained 8.17%, Exxon Mobil rose 6.22%, Phillips 66 increased 6.04%, Schlumberger climbed 6.01% and Halliburton closed up 5.87%.
Major tech stocks were also on the rise Tuesday with Google parent, Alphabet, rising 4.11% while Apple gained 3.28% and Amazon climbed 2.32%.
Bitcoin rose back above $21,000 Tuesday after having fallen below $18,000 for the first time since December 2020 over the weekend.
The 10-year treasury yield also rose to nearly 3.33%.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress in his semi-annual address Wednesday and Thursday, providing a look at the central bank’s plans to slow down inflation.
