Dow hits record high as Wall St cheers Powell speech

The Dow rose 846.24 points, or 1.89%, to 45,631.74. The S&P 500 gained 96.74 points, or 1.52%, to 6,466.91 and the Nasdaq gained 396.22 points, or 1.88%, to 21,496.54.

NEW YORK: Wall Street's main indices ended higher on Friday, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record closing high, as investors piled into stocks after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell hinted at a near-term interest-rate cut during his Jackson Hole Symposium speech.

His comments paved the way for a potential rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, although Powell stressed the importance of jobs and inflation data due before then.