S&P 500 at record high, shrugs off Powell taper talk

Markets were mostly higher on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent to a record high while the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.4 percent.

Earlier in Asia, markets were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.4 percent but the Shanghai Composite up 0.6 percent.

US investors shrugged off remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming symposium that the Fed likely will begin cutting the amount of bonds it buys each month before the end of the year.

“The timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of interest rate liftoff,” Powell added.

“Interest rate hikes are far, far away, and investors are happy about that,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for the US SPDR Business at State Street Global Advisors. “The market seems well prepared for the start of tapering.”