US markets surge on Fed decision to keep interest rate near zero

10 Aug 2011 Evaluate

The US markets bounced with a bang and surged the most in two years on Tuesday, rebounding after their worst day since 2008, after a Federal Open Market Committee said benchmark rates would stay near zero through mid-2013. Though the market was under pressure at start but moved higher with the announcement.

The Fed rate setting committee, in a split 7-3 decision, agreed that it would keep interest rates, now near 0%, at ultralow levels at least through mid-2013- the first time it put a time frame on its low-rate stance. The Fed’s statement represents the biggest effort since November to spark the US economy and revive confidence. The monetary committee also lowered its outlook for the pace of recovery, and discussed a range of policy tools to stimulate growth. The Federal Open Market Committee is also prepared to employ additional tools to bolster an economy hobbled by weak hiring and anemic household spending.

Also, Moody’s Investors Service reiterated yesterday that it affirmed the US government’s top AAA ranking because the dollar’s status as the main reserve currency allows it to support higher debt levels than other countries. However, investors have been distracted by the credit crisis in Europe, which shows few signs of dissipating.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged by 429.92 points, or 3.98 percent, to 11,239.80. The Standard and Poor's 500 closed higher by 53.07 points, or 4.74 percent, to 1,172.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up by 124.83 points, or 5.29 percent, to 2,482.52. 

The Indian ADRs closed in green on Tuesday, ICICI Bank was up by 3.51%, HDFC Bank was up by 3.16%, Dr Reddy’s Lab was up by 2.20% and Infosys Technologies was up 1.89%. On the flip side, MTNL was down by 0.06%.

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