Stocks hit new highs as Powell talks of more debt-buying

Markets rose on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to a new all-time high, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.6 percent to also hit a record high and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.6 percent.

China reported 2,015 new cases of coronavirus infection and 97 deaths on Wednesday.

However, Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in a note that the “market seems to be pricing in a virus that will be at least somewhat contained in the nearer term”.

The market could also be counting on the Federal Reserve to help maintain the rally.

In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell the central bank would fight the next economic downturn by buying large amounts of government debt to drive down long-term interest rates.