Wall Street Buoyed By Fed's Interest Rate Hint

US markets have made slight gains after the Federal Reserve signalled it could soon cut interest rates due to uncertainty over the economic outlook.

As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged for now, but chairman Jerome Powell said many central bankers feel the case for an interest rate cut has strengthened, noting that trade frictions with China have dimmed the growth outlook.

The Dow Jones was up 0.1 percent or 35 points at 26,504. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 2,926, while the Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 7,987.

In its statement, the Fed said it "will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion" and dropped prior wording that it would be "patient" in assessing economic data, an omission that boosted expectations in futures markets that the Fed will cut interest rates in July.

The more dovish statement followed up on a shift in tone from Powell on June 4. Over the ensuing period, the Dow has gained more than 6 percent.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, said the Fed's more dovish tilt was in line with expectations and largely priced in by financial markets.

The next big event will be the G20 meeting, which will provide a forum for presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to try to hash out a trade deal.

"Where we are now is back to focusing on trade and putting monetary policy on the backburner," said Hogan. (AFP)