US Tech Stocks Hit Record High As Federal Reserve Chief Plays Down Inflation Risk

NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2021) US stocks rallied for a second straight day on Tuesday, with the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index hitting record highs, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell downplayed fears over inflation.

Nasdaq, which includes high-flying tech stocks such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, microsoft, Netflix and Google, hit an all-time high of 14,270. It settled Tuesday's trade at 14,253, up 0.8 percent for a second straight day.

The S&P 500, which groups the top 500 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at 4,246, up 0.5 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest US equity barometer on the New York Stock Exchange, finished at 33,946, up 0.2 percent.

Shares on Nasdaq soared after Fed Chair Powell acknowledged that US inflation was trending higher than usual but said it was unlikely to get as bad as it did in the 1970s.

The average US inflation rate in the 1970s was 6.8 percent, nearly triple the rate of the previous two decades and double the long-run historical average.