NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – With the promise of continued loose US monetary policy in the back and the prospect of new corona aid, prices should pick up at the start of trading on Wall Street. About three quarters of an hour before the stock market start, the broker IG estimated the Dow Jones Industrial on Thursday with 0.40 percent up at 30,275 points.
With a day’s delay, the statements of the US Federal Reserve on the stock exchange evidently have a positive effect. The monetary authorities are continuing their crisis policy in view of the continued smoldering corona pandemic. The key interest rate will remain near the zero line while hundreds of billions of euros continue to be pumped into the American economy every month.
Stock marketers had expected even more from the Fed’s cornucopia – but overall, the Fed’s willingness to support the economy is fueling investors’ buying mood, stated several market observers. At the same time, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was surprisingly positive about the development in 2021, according to the DZ Bank experts.
The day before, the Fed’s decisions initially caused a moderate reaction on the US stock exchanges. The Dow Jones – although still at a record level – ultimately even fell slightly. Now this Thursday, the increasing chances of another US economic stimulus package in the near future are moving back into focus.
On the economic side, investors have to process some economic and sentiment indicators on this day with the sharp slump in the PhillyFed index, the unexpectedly strong increase in data on construction starts and the increased number of initial jobless claims. These are being tapped with a view to the impact of the increasing number of new corona infections on the US economy and economic expectations in the country.
The USA has already started vaccinations with the active ingredient from Pfizer and Biontech. An external panel of experts will presumably decide this Thursday whether it will also recommend emergency approval of the corona vaccine from competitor Moderna to the US FDA. Before the trading day, the Moderna share rose by more than one percent.
There are also signs of a positive start for the US pharmaceutical company Merck – the FDA has guaranteed the company preferential testing for a supplementary approval application for the blockbuster Keytruda for a certain form of esophageal cancer.
The food company General Mills is also in view with figures. The company’s revenue and earnings per share rose faster than analysts expected in the past quarter. The quarterly results of the logistics group Fedex are only expected after the trading day ./tav/jha/
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