NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – On Thursday, the US stock markets continued the gains of the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 1.79 percent to 32,696 points. The leading index could now leave the downward trend that began in April behind. According to stockbrokers, as on the previous day, the fact that the minutes of the US Federal Reserve gave no indication of even more aggressive steps to combat high inflation in the USA has a supportive effect.
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The market-wide S&P 500 went up 2.15 percent to 4064 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 3.02 percent to 12,305 points. The numerous growth stocks in the index had suffered particularly badly in the past few weeks from the prospect of sharp interest rate hikes.
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The Federal Reserve minutes are initially calming nerves as they signaled further rate hikes of 0.50 percentage point in June and July before pausing in September, commented Jeffrey Halley, market analyst at brokerage Oanda Asia Pacific. The Fed’s 0.75-point rate hike, feared by the market, “was no longer on the agenda.”
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The focus was on stocks from the badly battered technology sector. Apple initially lost more than two percent, but caught up on the losses and was last up 2.4 percent. According to insiders, the iPhone manufacturer has doubts about the increase in sales of its smartphone in the current year.
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