US markets point higher after tough inflation talk from Fed

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street pointed toward a higher open on Tuesday, one day after Chairman Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve was prepared to raise its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-point multiple times, if necessary, to slow inflation. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials rose 0.5% and the same for the S&P 500 was up 0.3%. Shares in Europe and Asia also rose, while oil prices slipped. Powell’s remarks Monday at the National Association of Business Economists came less than a week after the U.S. central bank announced a quarter-point rate hike, its first interest rate increase since 2018.