Major US stock indices rose sharply, the reason for which were statements by Fed Chairman Powell, which weakened investors' fears that an increase in interest rates could slow the growth of the economy.

Powell said that rates are just below the levels that are considered neutral at the Fed. However, the head of the Fed noted that, by historical standards, the rates remain low. In addition, as part of his speech, Powell did not dispel expectations regarding another rate increase in December. Meanwhile, Powell pointed to the increased volume of debt obligations of American companies and the deterioration in the quality of these loans, and this, in his opinion, is one of the vulnerable points of the US financial system. At the same time, Powell considers such risks moderate. He also pointed out that the economic outlook provides many reasons for optimism.

A certain attention of investors was also attracted by data on the USA. The Commerce Department reported that growth in the US economy slowed in the third quarter, as previously reported, but growth rates were probably strong enough to keep growth on the path to achieving the Trump administration’s 3 percent goal this year. Gross domestic product increased in the third quarter by 3.5% on an annualized basis, after rising 4.2% in the second quarter.

In addition, the Department of Commerce said that sales of new homes in the United States showed a significant decrease compared to the revised September level. The Commerce Department reported that in October, new home sales fell to 544,000 units from a revised figure of 597,000 units in September. Economists had expected new home sales to rise to 575,000 from the 553,000 originally reported in the previous month.

Almost all the components of DOW recorded an increase (27 of 30). The growth leader was the shares of The Boeing Company (BA, + 4.96%). The outsider was Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, -1.07%).

All sectors of the S & P finished trading in positive territory. The growth leaders were the services sector (+ 2.8%) and the technology sector (+ 2.7%).

U.S. stock-index futures advanced on Wednesday on expectations of a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade negotiations at the upcoming G20 Summit, while investors looked forward to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments for clues on the path of interest rate hikes.

Global Stocks:

Wall Street. Stocks before the bell

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Upgrades before the market open

United Tech (UTX) upgraded to Hold from Sell at DZ Bank

A positive start of trading in Europe is expected, after US stocks rebounded before the close of the day. Quotes on the Asia-Pacific stock markets are also rising. Caution still persists as markets await the start of the G20 summit, which will take place from November 30 to December 1 in Argentina.