NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Positive quarterly reports and rising consumer confidence boosted US stock markets on Wednesday. Investors are therefore back more confident after the good mood of stock exchanges in October and November had been severely dampened in recent weeks. In addition to inflation and slowing growth in the US, statements by central banks in the US and Europe about further tightening of monetary policy had people scared.
The major Dow Jones Industrial index, which had already started to recover on Tuesday after four weaker trading days, gained another 1.47% to 33,333.44 points about two hours before the market close. The S&P 500 was up 1.40% to 3875.01 points. The well-regarded index, which reflects the broad market, rose a little more than the 3800 mark that had provided it with support in recent days. The Nasdaq 100 high-tech selection index rose 1.44% to 11,231.93 points. The day before he had failed to jump into the positive at the close of trading.
Those who expect the economy to slide quickly into a recession may be scratching their heads in confusion after the Conference Board’s consumer confidence data, said Craig Erlam, market analyst at brokerage Oanda. After all, consumer confidence in the US improved markedly in December and is back at its highest level since April. “While the economy is still heading into recession, consumers continue to show signs of resilience, which in turn could delay a sharp drop in stocks.”
Investors also reacted positively to annual reports from Nike and Fedex. In the Dow, shares of the world’s largest sporting goods maker Nike stood out, up nearly 14%. Business was good in the fiscal second quarter despite concerns about global inflation and recession. Sales have increased significantly. While profitability was impacted by discounts as the group has high inventories, analyst expectations (consensus) were still exceeded.
In the S&P 100, shares of Fedex jumped 4.6% to just under $172. The logistics group earned significantly less in its latest business quarter despite austerity measures, but it still topped consensus estimates. Goldman Sachs analyst Jordan Alliger praised quarterly earnings per share as surprisingly better than expected. The outlook for the new fiscal year is likely to prove conservative, he wrote, further raising the stock price target to $218. He also left the paper on the “Conviction Buy List” for particularly promising stocks.
Carnival stock earned on both sides of the Atlantic. The NYSE rose 5.2%. Although the cruise line’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales fell short of expectations, its loss per share fell less than analysts expected. According to CMC Markets expert Michael Hewson, the share price was mainly helped by the more optimistic outlook for the upcoming financial year./ck/he
