Stock market indices such as S&P 500 and Dow Jones were trading in a range for most of April, but after the FOMC meeting, they have made two strong daily closes. Buyers still have to do some work for the uptrend to resume, but the softer NFP report on Friday helped improve risk sentiment and give stock markets a strong reason to rally.

S&P 500 Chart Daily – Consolidating Between 2 MAs

Investor sentiment saw an improvement following the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate decision, which turned out to be less hawkish than anticipated. This momentum from last week’s upward movement continued today, with the NASDAQ and S&P indices leading the way, closing at or near session highs. The Russell 2000 also showed solid advancement.

Dow Jones Chart Daily – Price Moves Above MAs

Here are the daily close figures for the main US indices:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Increased by 180 points, or 0.50%, closing at 38,853 points.
• S&P 500 index: Rose by 53 points, or 1%, closing at 5,180 points
• NASDAQ index: Rose by 193 points, or 1.20%, closing at 16,350 points
• The small-cap Russell 2000: Increased by 25 points, closing at 2,060 v

S&P 500 Live Chart