A sad end to the week for US stocks… despite the strong corporate results
US stocks resumed their decline, which began two days ago with the shock of downgrading the credit rating of the United States, despite the strong results announced by technology giants Apple and Amazon on Thursday, after government data showed the continued solidity of the US labor market.
Analysts considered that the recent data opened the way again for the Federal Reserve to tighten further, after investors thought that the time for raising interest rates had finally passed.
During the last trading days of the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150 points, which represented 0.4% of its value, and the S&P 500 index fell by 0.53%, while the loss in the Nasdaq index was 0.36%. The three indices also recorded a weekly loss, ranging between 1% and 2.8%.
At the end of the busiest week of the year with business results data, the share of the electronic retail giant Amazon rose by more than 8%, after announcing positive results during the second quarter, and its officials expected to achieve better results during the current quarter. The stock recorded during today’s trading its highest level in nearly a year.
In contrast, Apple’s stock declined by nearly 5%, after announcing weaker results than last year’s results. Apple stock alone accounts for more than 7% of the S&P 500.
In Europe, stocks closed higher today, Friday, after selling for three days, on the back of higher profits for some banks, in addition to US jobs data, which reflected the strength of the economy in the United States, which eased investor concerns about slowing growth in the euro area.
The Stoxx 600 index of European shares rose 0.3%, after declining about 3% in the previous three sessions, supported by a 6.1% rise in the French Credit Agricole Bank, after announcing strong quarterly profits.
Data from the United States showed that the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in July, but the strong rise in wages, in addition to the decline in the unemployment rate, inspired the markets to continue the strength of the labor market.
However, weak economic data from Europe and Asia announced during the week, supported by a sudden downgrade in the credit rating of the United States, prompted the Stoxx 600 index to decline 2.4% on a weekly basis, ending its three-week streak of weekly gains.
In a related way, gold prices rose today, Friday, after the US jobs report led to a decline in the dollar and Treasury bond yields, to give yellow bullion a recovery that has been absent for a while, but it was not enough to avoid recording the worst week in the last six weeks.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,940.86 an ounce by 18:52 GMT. However, the price of the yellow metal fell 0.9% on a weekly basis, according to “Reuters” data.
US gold futures closed 0.4% higher, at $1,976.10.
After the jobs data was released, the dollar fell 0.5% against a basket of major currencies, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies. US Treasury yields for 10 years, the most important in the US market, fell from their highest level in nine months.
Also, oil prices rose on Friday morning, minutes after the publication of the statement of the Committee of Senior Ministers of the OPEC group, today, Friday, which showed the group’s agreement to keep the oil production policy unchanged.
US West Texas crude oil recorded a price of $81.84 per barrel, up by 0.32%, while the price of Brent crude increased by 0.48%, to $85.54.
By the end of today’s trading, Brent crude futures were up $1.10, or 1.29%, to reach $86.24 a barrel, and US crude futures rose $1.27, or 1.56%, to reach $82.82 a barrel, upon settlement.
2023-08-04 21:43:03
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