Stocks Surge After Fed Board Member Proposes No Rush To Raise Rates

North American stock markets rallied today after a U.S. Federal Reserve official indicated that the central bank stays wary about interest rate hikes.

Fed governor Lael Brainard said the danger with rising rates too early is that it could harm the fragile economy.

Following the comments, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index climbed 57.06 points to 14,597.06, while in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average surged 239.62 points at 18,325.07. The broader S&P 500 index was up 31.23 points at 2,159.04 and the Nasdaq composite added 85.98 points at 5,211.89.

Stock markets dove on Friday after Fed Bank of Boston president Eric Rosengren said there was a case to be made for the Fed to raise rates within the near future.

Commodities were blended as the December gold contract fell $8.90 US to $1,325.60 US, while the October crude oil contract picked up 41 cents at $46.29 US per barrel.

The October contract for natural gas picked up 12 cents at $2.92 US per mmBtu. The December copper contract was up a cent to $2.10 US a pound. The Canadian dollar was scarcely changed, plunging 0.07 of a cent at 76.63 cents US.