- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that the central bank will maintain its growth-oriented practices, including aggressive bond-buying and low interest rates.
- Powell's statements, combined with days of market selloffs, prompted a buying opportunity for U.S. stock traders whose purchasing frenzy left all three major indexes with higher closes.
- Bitcoin prices rebounded back above the $50,000 mark after facing steep declines on Tuesday. Tesla's price also rose on Wednesday, and analysts are starting to question whether the advances are interlinked due to Elon Musk's large purchase of Bitcoin two weeks ago.
- The U.S. dollar continued to lose ground against the euro and the British pound, causing the US Dollar Index to fall 0.2% during Thursday's Asian trading session. The greenback was up modestly against the yen.
- Global coronavirus deaths crossed 2.5 million on Wednesday. The number of total cases now stands around 113,100,859. The number of new daily cases remains nearly half of the number of new daily cases reported in early January 2021, signifying that the current wave may be ebbing.
Forex Today: Stock Markets Rise on Powell Optimism
Sari Holtz
Jerome Powell told the House recovery is far from over.