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Nasdaq jumps to record high
The Nasdaq closed at its highest level – ever – on Tuesday, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers the Fed is keeping an eye on inflation but is still a long way from removing crisis-era assistance to the economy.The Dow rose 68 points. The S&P 500 gained 21. The Nasdaq jumped 111 points.Wall Street knows the Fed will one day pull the plug, but for now, investors are happy to hear – that day isn’t today, says Max Wolff of Systematic Ventures.”At some point, the Federal Reserve can’t simply buy all the assets to keep the prices up and say that its macro prudential right. So what you saw in Jerome Powell statement, which was a smart statement, is, hey, remember markets? We’re not doing anything that isn’t great for you, but we also have to keep an eye on the macro economy and full employment. And that situation is actually less clear and further behind in the recovery.”One part of the economy that’s showing strain: real estate. Home resales fell for the fourth month in a row. Low inventory led to record-high prices, which are keeping potential buyers out of the market. The media price for a previously-owned home surged a record 23.6 percent in May from a year ago to more than $350,000.On the corporate front: A new antitrust challenge for Alphabet and its search giant Google. The European Union officially began a probe into Google’s advertising business and whether it’s dominance gives it an unfair advantage over rivals and advertisers. It was a volatile day for bitcoin holders. The cryptocurrency temporarily dipped below $30,000 for the first time since January after a deeper Chinese crackdown on bitcoin mining. It did recover by day’s end.