The major US stock indices rose significantly, with the Dow reaching record highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen said interest rate hikes will be gradual.

In her prepared notes, Ms. Yellen noted that the labor market continues to strengthen, and the economy appears to be growing at a moderate pace, while inflation remains below the Fed's long-term goal of 2%. She also noted that the FOMC still believes that a further gradual rate increase may be appropriate in the next few years to achieve and maintain maximum employment and stable prices.

Attention of market participants also attracted the Fed's Beige Book, which reported that the labor market situation continued to improve, but the price pressure in most regions was moderate. According to the Fed, in June the growth rate of economic activity in 12 regions ranged from weak to moderate. In 6 regions, economic growth was small, in 4 regions - moderate, in 2 regions - weak. Meanwhile, many regions expect a slight or moderate increase in economic activity in the coming months.

The price of oil rose sharply after the data indicated a major drop in oil reserves in the US, but soon lost most of the earned positions, as investors switched their attention to the next increase in oil production in the US. The US Energy Ministry reported that in the week of July 1-7, oil reserves fell by 7.564 million barrels to 495.35 million barrels. Analysts had expected a reduction of only 3.225 million barrels.

Almost all components of the DOW index recorded a rise (29 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DD, + 2.82%). Outsider were the shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, -0.22%).

All sectors of S & P completed the auction in positive territory. The technological sector grew most (+ 1.4%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.58% 21.532.65 +123.58

Nasdaq + 1.10% 6,261.17 +67.86

S & P + 0.74% 2.443.38 +17.85

U.S. stock-index futures rose as investors reacted positively to the Fed Chair Janet Yellen's prepared remarks for today's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee (14:00 GMP). The remarks did not provide anything surprising in terms of interest rate outlook or balance sheet normalization.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 20,098.38 -97.10 -0.48%

Hang Seng 26,043.64 +166.00 +0.64%

Shanghai 3,198.03 -5.01 -0.16%

S&P/ASX 5,703.57 -55.20 -0.96%

FTSE 7,407.69 +77.93 +1.06%

CAC 5,203.36 +62.76 +1.22%

DAX 12,569.84 +132.82 +1.07%

Crude $45.68 (+1.42%)

Gold $1,216.70 (+0.16%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg

European stocks finished with losses Tuesday, as investors took a cautious approach ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress. After the latest Fed minutes out last week, investors are still expecting the U.S. central bank to hike rates at least one more time this year, but they are waiting on clues as to the timing of the next tightening move.

The U.S. stock market remained resilient Tuesday with the Nasdaq extending its winning streak to a third session as a pair of political developments dominated the news cycle. The market had initially turned south after Donald Trump Jr. released a chain of emails regarding a meeting in June 2016 to discuss allegedly incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government's support of his father's presidential candidacy.

Equity markets in Asia largely paused Wednesday after a strong start to the week, with stocks in Japan and Australia underperforming as their countries' currencies made gains. In a development in claims that Russia might have meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, Donald Trump's eldest son released correspondence on Tuesday that showed communication with a Russian government attorney.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei +114.50 20195.48 +0.57%

TOPIX +11.66 1627.14 +0.72%

Hang Seng +377.58 25877.64 +1.48%

CSI 300 +17.12 3670.81 +0.47%

Euro Stoxx 50 -13.58 3464.48 -0.39%

FTSE 100 -40.27 7329.76 -0.55%

DAX -8.90 12437.02 -0.07%

CAC 40 -25.04 5140.60 -0.48%

DJIA +0.55 21409.07 +0.00%

S&P 500 -1.90 2425.53 -0.08%

NASDAQ +16.91 6193.31 +0.27%

S&P/TSX +43.85 15149.14 +0.29%