(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The US stock markets ended higher on Thursday. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent at 4,510.04 points, the Dow Jones index rose 0.1 percent at 34,395.14 points and the Nasdaq closed 1.6 percent higher at 14,138.57 points.
Investors reacted enthusiastically on Wednesday to the US inflation data from June, which caused the stock markets in New York to climb to their highest levels since April 2022.
“The Federal Reserve will be particularly pleased with core inflation cooling to 4.8 percent,” said Lynx investment specialist Justin Blekemolen. In advance, a core inflation of 5.0 percent was expected.
The market does think that another rate hike of 25 basis points is needed, Blekemolen noted. “But investors do assume that this may be the last rate hike [van de Fed] will be. This was reflected in the enthusiasm on the stock markets,” said the Lynx expert.
This afternoon it appeared that producer prices in the United States are also rising less quickly. Producer prices rose by 0.1 percent on an annual basis in June, after an increase of 0.9 percent in the previous month. Core prices rose 2.6 percent year-on-year. In May, core inflation was 2.8 percent.
The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the US fell unexpectedly in the week ending July 8. The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to 237,000. The figure for the previous week was revised upwards by 1,000 to 249,000. Economists had expected 250,000 applications in advance.
It was also announced on Thursday that Fed director James Bullard is stepping down. The chairman of the St. Louis Fed will formally leave next month. He gets a high position at Purdue University. With Bullard’s departure, the Federal Reserve loses one of its hawks, even though he has no voting rights this year.
Oil prices rose 1.5 percent on Thursday, thanks to the weaker dollar. OPEC and IEA also published their monthly reports. The IEA expects less strong growth in oil demand this year. Next year, the supply will grow less quickly than the demand. OPEC expects strong demand for oil in the coming year, especially from Asia.
The euro/dollar was 0.9 percent higher on Thursday evening at 1.1229.
Company news
Shares of Nikola Corp rose more than 60 percent on Thursday thanks to a hydrogen deal for the company’s trucks.
PepsiCo reported second quarter earnings per share of $1.99 on revenues of $22.3 billion. The company saw room to raise the outlook again for this year, after expectations were also raised when the figures for the first quarter were published. The stock gained more than 2 percent.
Delta Airlines also raised its outlook and is targeting earnings per share of $6 to $7 this year, up from $5 to $6. Revenue and adjusted earnings per share exceeded expectations. The stock closed about half a percent lower.
The regulator FTC disagrees with a judge’s ruling that there are no reasons to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC is appealing the verdict. The Microsoft share gained more than one and a half percent, while Activision Blizzard fell slightly.
Walt Disney shares rose slightly. CEO Bob Iger’s contract was extended through December 2026. Iger re-joined as CEO of the company in November, following the departure of Bob Chapek.
ExxonMobil has reached an agreement to acquire Denbury. ExxonMobil is financing the acquisition with $4.9 billion of its own shares, or $89.45 per share of Exxon. The stock lost almost 2 percent. Denbury was also under pressure on Thursday.
Amazon rose more than 2.5 percent. The e-commerce giant reported that Prime Day delivered record sales.
Bron: ABM Financial News
2023-07-13 20:24:50
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