Business news live: U.S. Fed says economic recovery remains on track despite COVID-19 surge

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Robinhood raises $2.1 billion in IPO

Robinhood Markets Inc, raised $2.1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, valuing the company at $31.8 billion.

The firm said it sold 55 million shares in the IPO at a price of $38.00 per share, the low end of its $38 to $42 price range, making Robinhood one of the most valuable U.S. firms to have gone public year-to-date.

The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday, under the ticker symbol “HOOD”.

Benchmark Indian indices open higher

Indian indices opened higher on Thursday. BSE Sensex opened at 52,693.53, up 249.82 points, while Nifty opened at 15,762.70, up 53.30 points.

Major Asian stock indices open in green

Major Asian stock indices opened in green on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate near zero. Japan’s Nikkei opened at 27,722.61, up 140.95 points, and Topix at 1,928.19, up 8.54 points, while South Korea’s Kospi opened at 3,248.49, up 11.63 points.  

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, opened at 26,221.36, up 747.48 points after closing at 25,473.88 on Tuesday. The stock index continued on the recovery path after it plunged over 8% early this week as Chinese technology and education shares had dived amid regulatory fears.

Investors in the Hong Kong market would keep an eye on cues of a further recover.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE index ended 135.05 points or 0.26% lower at 52,443.71, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 37.05 points or 0.24% to 15,709.40.

Dow and S&P 500 dip, while Nasdaq rises  

Two of the three major U.S. indices closed in red on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq rose, as the U.S. Federal Reserve said the country’s economic recovery remains on track and kept its benchmark interest rate near zero.

The S&P 500 closed at 4,400.64, down 0.82 points or 0.02%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 127.59 points or 0.36% to close at 34,930.93, and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 14,762.58, up 102.01 or 0.70%.

Also, Apple’s shares declined after it forecast slowing revenue growth, while Google parent Alphabet’s shares touched an all-time high after it posted record quarterly results.

U.S. Fed says economic recovery remains on track despite COVID-19 surge

The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the country’s economic recovery is still on track in spite of a surge in COVID-19 infections.

The central bank said it’s keeping benchmark interest rates in a target range between 0 and 0.25%. The Fed is also continuing to increase its holdings of Treasury bonds by at least $80 billion per month and of agency mortgage‑backed bonds by at least $40 billion per month until substantial further progress has been made toward its maximum employment and price stability goals, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, said in a news conference.

The Fed also said that the path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. “Progress on vaccinations will likely continue to reduce the effects of the public health crisis on the economy, but risks to the economic outlook remain.”

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