NEW YORK (awp international) – After pleasing US economic data and positive signals from Asia, investors on the New York stock market are again more risk-averse on Tuesday. If the indices had been struggling at the beginning of the week in the face of persistent growth concerns, they are now advancing again.
The leading index Dow Jones Industrial recently gained 1.08 percent to 32,573 points. The S&P 500 as a market-wide index increased by 1.61 percent to 4073 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.98 percent to 12,486 points.
Confidence is growing in Asia that the corona lockdown in Shanghai could be relaxed. No new infections were reported in the Chinese metropolis for the third day in a row, which is a condition for easing the strict virus measures. The tough measures to contain the virus are considered one reason for the global supply chain problems that are threatening growth.
Good news also came from the USA: Consumption in the world’s largest economy shows no signs of slowing down. Retail sales picked up again in April, albeit slightly weaker than expected. In addition, US industry increased its production again in April and also more significantly than analysts had calculated. The gain follows solid gains in previous months. The analysts at Capital Economics explained that it underscores that it is not just consumer spending that is driving the US economy.
Walmart investors, on the other hand, had to cope with bad news. The largest US retailer is groaning under high costs amid inflationary pressures and supply chain issues. After a significant drop in profits in the first quarter, the shopping giant cut its annual targets. With a price loss of 10.6 percent, they are now threatened with falling to their lowest level since March 2021. In the Dow they were by far the weakest value.
The home improvement store group Home Depot did better than Walmart and is more optimistic about the year as a whole after a successful first quarter. The papers rose by 1.9 percent. Retailers especially praised the surprising increase in like-for-like sales.
A stake by Warren Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway in Citigroup caused the bank’s shares to rise by a good eight percent. Berkshire relies on the new management.
After losing 17 percent in two trading days, shares of Twitter tried to stabilize with a gain of 3.2 percent. The tech billionaire and Tesla boss Elon Musk bites the announced purchase of the short message service on his accusation that the service has many more fake accounts than stated. It remains unclear whether he wants to push the price down – or is trying to prepare the ground for an exit from the business./ajx/he
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