NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – On Wall Street, the technology stocks indices initially continued their latest record hunt on Wednesday. In the end, however, the momentum subsided again. In general, investors concentrated on the continued support of the markets by the central banks and on the economic recovery.
The day before, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had reassured the markets with his statements. Accordingly, the US Federal Reserve does not want to undertake a preventive interest rate hike, but rather only act when inflation rises sustainably. Powell once again described the latest surge in inflation as a transitional phenomenon that will recede.
The US benchmark index Dow Jones Industrial recently barely moved at 33,935.96 points. The S&P 500, which represents the broad market, rose by 0.10 percent to 4250.83 points.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.12 percent to 14,287.84 points, after having previously achieved a record of just under 14,325 points. For the more comprehensive Nasdaq Composite, it was last up 0.2 percent.
“It is noteworthy that the central banks remain sufficiently relaxed with regard to the inflation outlook,” said Dekabank’s chief economist, Ulrich Kater. The financial market participants would thus have distanced themselves somewhat from the idea of a rapid reflation of the national economies, i.e. if prices rise sharply as a result of the economic stimulus. The yields on government bonds, which have fallen somewhat in the past few days, would have helped the stock markets in return, said Kater.
It was in keeping with the Federal Reserve’s composure that the US economic data published this Wednesday turned out to be rather sobering. The purchasing manager indices of the market research company Markit were unable to give the stock exchange any impulses. The index value for the services sector fell surprisingly sharply. In addition, sales of new homes fell sharply again.
Among the biggest losers on the Nasdaq 100, the shares of Electronic Arts lost around one and a half percent. The manufacturer of computer games is buying the game company Playdemic from the telecommunications group AT&T – although it has only had one hit so far with “Golf Clash”. AT&T shares have recently increased moderately.
According to insiders, the pharmaceutical retailer McKesson is examining the sale of its European business. This would mean that McKesson would reverse its purchase of the German Celesio in 2014, reported the Bloomberg news agency, citing people familiar with the matter. Investors were cautious about the news: The unit certificates recently traded slightly in the minus./la/he
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