NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The US stock exchanges are likely to start trading with further price gains on Wednesday before the eagerly awaited US interest rate decision. The vague hope of a ceasefire in Ukraine and the related easing of energy prices continued to be seen as a driver.
Before the Fed will probably announce the first rate hike since 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial was valued by broker IG half an hour before the start at 33,804 points and thus 0.8 percent higher. Expectations are even better on the Nasdaq, the technology-heavy selection index Nasdaq 100 was even calculated 1.3 percent higher.
There are still vague hopes that progress will be made in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Although the fighting continues unabated, comparatively mild tones from Russia have already provided further impetus on the financial markets in Europe. Barely three weeks after the start of the war, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sees a chance for a compromise. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was also cautiously optimistic about the talks on Wednesday night.
The perspective kept the tech stocks on their recovery course before the market. Apple shares, for example, advanced 1.5 percent. After the production stop due to the corona lockdown in Shenzhen, southern China, Apple partner Foxconn has partially resumed operations in the iPhone production facility in the metropolis.
Chip shares, which shape the tech sector, were also among the big winners before the market. Micron’s stock, for example, traded 4.2 percent higher.
The situation on the oil market eased further, and prices continued to fall on Wednesday. The shares of the oil multinationals Chevron and ExxonMobil still gained a little before the market. Airlines, meanwhile, continued their recovery with further price gains. Delta and United stocks are up more than 3 percent premarket.
Starbucks is also showing strong gains on the Nasdaq, where the price rose almost six percent after being upgraded to “Overweight” by the US bank JPMorgan. In addition, CEO Kevin Johnson wants to resign next month after 13 years, but will remain with the company as an advisor. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz will take over as interim boss until a successor is found.
However, shares in Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba, which are listed in the USA, recovered particularly strongly. The shares of the Chinese Internet giant shot up by 19 percent before the market. Sector stocks from China had previously rallied strongly in the Far East after the state news agency Xinhua reported that the government had an interest in stabilizing the stock markets – and in keeping Chinese stocks listed on stock exchanges outside the country. Concerns about being excluded from the US market had weighed heavily on values in the past few weeks./tih/mis
–