In Summary on Powell's speech -

The Federal Reserve raised rates by a quarter point at the conclusion of its two-day Open Markets Committee meeting. That marks the smallest rate hike since March 2022. Since then, the Fed has raised by a half-point twice and a historically high three-quarters of a point four times to combat inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference that the Fed will continue to hike rates for the foreseeable future. Although the Fed was expected to slow its pace of rate hikes, Powell has repeatedly said the central bank won't consider rate cuts until the committee is "confident" that inflation is moving toward its 2% target.

Stocks closed higher as investors were cheered by Powell's optimistic comments about the economy.