Stocks rally, Nasdaq pops 4% | Fed Chair Powell’s market-boosting comments | Second-quarter GDP out Thursday

The major averages climbed Wednesday as Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered his comments.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, JUL 27, 2022 EVENING BRIEF AS OF WED, JUL 27, 2022 • 05:05 ET DJIA 32197.59 +1.37% +436.05 S&P 500 4023.61 +2.62% +102.56 NASDAQ 12032.42 +4.06% +469.85 Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 156.79 +5.19 +3.42% MSFT 268.74 +16.84 +6.69% INTC 40.18 +1.22 +3.13% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 156.79 +5.19 +3.42% AMD 89.82 +4.57 +5.36% CCL 8.85 +0.35 +4.12% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 156.79 +5.19 +3.42% AMD 89.82 +4.57 +5.36% AMZN 120.97 +6.16 +5.37% EDITOR'S NOTE Stocks rallied Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank would eventually slow the pace of its interest rate hikes.   Stocks were already up to start the session, rising a day after Alphabet and Microsoft posted strong quarterly growth in certain businesses. After the Fed concluded its two-day meeting, all of the major averages extended those gains.    The Fed raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, as was widely expected. Investors were keen to learn about future rate increases, however. Powell left the door open about the size of a likely September rate hike, but he also said that down the road "it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases." That will depend on economic data. Stocks rallied during Powell's remarks as investors' worries about out-of-control inflation and recession risk softened a bit. Earnings season is in full swing this week with just over a third of the S&P 500 reporting their quarterly results. Many companies so far have cited inflation-related challenges in their performance or forward-looking guidance.   Powell also said he does not think the U.S. is currently in a recession and that "there are too many areas of the economy that are performing too well."   Retail stocks, which were hit hardest in the previous session on inflation concerns, cut some losses after the Fed decision.   Tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq higher, as Microsoft and Alphabet leapt about 6.6% and 7.6%, respectively. Meta Platforms jumped more than 6%, Amazon gained 5.3%, and Apple advanced 3.4%. Tanaya Macheel | Markets and Investing Reporter @tanayamac Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. TOP NEWS  Dow rallies 400 points as Powell hints Fed could slow pace of rate hikes, Nasdaq jumps 4% Fed hikes interest rates by 0.75 percentage point for second consecutive time to fight inflation Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he does not think the U.S. is currently in a recession Full recap of the Federal Reserve's rate hike and Powell's market-boosting comments Spirit terminates merger agreement with Frontier that was marred by JetBlue's rival bid The stock market is liking Fed rate hikes this year, unlike in the past Meta reports earnings miss and forecasts second consecutive quarter of declining revenue Ford beats on earnings and revenue as operating income surges The economy is expected to have barely grown last quarter and it may have contracted Google stock had its best day of the year, after earnings weren't as bad as feared TOP VIDEO Powell's handling inflation well, says Jefferies' David Zervos CNBC PRO The IPO market has been a disaster this year for investors, but a select few have doubled SPECIAL REPORTS Here's how advisors are shifting clients' portfolios as the Federal Reserve again hikes rates by 75 basis points The Mega Millions jackpot has now surged to $1.02 billion. Here's the tax bill if you win Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy © 2022 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS