LIVE: Fed Chair Powell highlights, stocks rally

Powell was pressed on growing national debt

Federal Reserve Chair Powell delivered his second and final testimony on the state of the U.S. economy in his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report Wednesday.

During the final hour of his Q&A stocks jumped, erasing earlier losses, despite an uptick in bond yields.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 44296.51 +426.16 +0.97%
SP500 S&P 500 5969.34 +20.63 +0.35%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 19003.651134 +31.23 +0.16%

Powell addressed the state of the pandemic and its impact on the economy and is defending the Fed's role in keeping monetary policy accommodative. As for fiscal policy, he's tossing it back to lawmakers.

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He was also pressed on the ballooning national debt and bitcoin.

FED'S POWELL SAYS US ECONOMIC OUTLOOK STILL 'HIGHLY UNCERTAIN,' BUT WIDER VACCINE ROLLOUT KEY

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