US Treasuries staged a historic rally and stocks jumped as comments from Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell further spurred a rally that began after the central bank published a more dovish outlook than investors had anticipated.
The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year note was down 0.25 percentage points in afternoon trading at a six-month low of 4.48 per cent. That ranked as its biggest daily drop since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March.
At its intraday low, the two-year yield was down 0.3 percentage points, which would have ranked as its 10th-largest one-day move this century. Bond prices rise as yields fall.
The 10-year yield hit its lowest since August, hovering just above 4 per cent.
The S&P 500 stood almost 1.4 per cent higher as Powell spoke, on track for its biggest jump in a month, having been flat before the Fed’s initial announcement.