The New York Stock Exchange rallied on Wednesday morning following the publication of a lower-than-expected ISM services index, lending credence to the scenario of further rate cuts.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones reversed course, gaining 0.2% to 39,253.8 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 16,337.3 points.253.8 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.6% to 16,337.3 points.

Wall Street had opened lower earlier in the day, extending its consolidation of the previous day due to the rebound in oil prices and its worrying implications for a possible reawakening of inflation.

The sharper-than-expected slowdown in activity in the services sector, announced at the start of the session, nevertheless seems to pave the way for further monetary easing.

The ISM services index fell to 51.4 last month, compared with 52.6 in February, whereas economists were expecting it to rise slightly, or at worst remain unchanged.

Risk-taking remains limited, however, just a few minutes ahead of the much-anticipated statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who will be speaking in a few moments.

Observers are not anticipating any spectacular announcements from the Fed Chairman at the Stanford University Economic Forum.

However, the Fed chairman could provide the markets with further indications of his assessment of economic conditions and the institution's rate plans.

In the meantime, the ounce of gold has just passed the $2,300 mark, a new all-time high.300, a new all-time high, representing a gain of 10% since its previous record high of $2,070.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on the latest developments on the oil market, where US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is retracing its annual high from Tuesday to around $86.

There was little movement on the bond front, even though the yield on 10-year Treasuries edged up by three basis points to above 4.39%, the worst level since late November.

On the stock front, Ford stood out (+2.6%) after bucking the downward trend in the US automotive market in the first quarter, with sales up boosted by the success of its electric models.

Intel, meanwhile, fell by more than 7% after revealing that its 'Foundry' division - its newly-launched silicon wafer manufacturing business - made an operating loss of almost $7 billion last year.

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