US stocks closed higher with the Dow Jones index recording a new high following Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium which gave a clearer signal for a rate cut in the near term.
Powell's statement opened the door to the possibility of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, with emphasis on employment and inflation data.
Following the comments, traders are now increasing their bets on a rate cut in September with a probability of 90% compared to 75% previously.
The Dow Jones index jumped more than 900 points to a new high above 45,700 and as investors' confidence in the possibility of a rate cut in September.
In addition, the S&P 500 strengthened 1.52% to 96.74 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq jumped 1.88% to 396.22 points.
In other news, Intel shares rose 5.5% ahead of the White House's announcement on Friday of a 10% stake in the company.
Coinbase shares also jumped 6.5% as investors returned to buying crypto-related stocks after Powell's speech.
Meanwhile, Intuit shares fell 5% after the TurboTax maker forecast first-quarter revenue growth below expectations, due to weakness in its marketing platform Mailchimp.
Workday shares fell 3% after the human resources software provider issued a current-quarter forecast that was in line with expectations.
Volume on U.S. exchanges hit $17.93 billion, compared with a 20-day average of $17.08 billion.
