©Reuters.
NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Investors in the US stock market were no longer discouraged on the penultimate trading day of the year as prices recovered significantly from recent losses, and this time they were led by technology stocks. A good two and a half hours before Thursday’s close of trading, this was evident with a 2.49% rise for the tech-heavy index to 10,945.55 points.
The main industrial index gained 1.12% to 33,245.08 points, while the market breadth increased by 1.81% to 3,851.78 points. For all three indices, however, the stock market year 2022 was overall very negative: Rate-sensitive technology stocks in particular were hit hard against the backdrop of sharp increases in key central bank interest rates.
As in Europe, concerns about a renewed global spread of the corona virus appear to be limited for the time being in light of the rapidly rising number of infections in China, although they continue to simmer in the background. There was also no negative news from the US labor market on Thursday as the increase in weekly initial jobless claims was as expected.
Equity activity in New York continues two days before the end of the year with no major drivers. Many investors are on vacation, the books are mostly closed. In the case of rather low trading volumes, however, irregular price movements can occur.
Tesla (NASDAQ:) continued its day-to-day rally up 5.8%. Before that, shares of the electric car maker had dropped for seven consecutive trading days. Analyst Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) sees price opportunity in recent steep decline. Other auto stocks also rose significantly on Thursday. Ford (NYSE:) and General Motors (NYSE:), for example, gained 4.8 and 2.6%, respectively. Shares of Tesla’s smallest competitors, Rivian (NASDAQ: ) and Lucid, each rose about five percent.
In 2023, the United States will start promoting some domestically-made electric vehicles. The subsidies are part of US President Joe Biden’s anti-inflation law, which provides, among other things, billionaire investments for climate and environmental protection. However, opinions differ among industry experts on the push for discounts for the sale of electric vehicles.
Shares of iPhone maker Apple (NASDAQ: ) were able to recoup some of their recent significant losses up 2.8%. Intel (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) each gained approximately 2.5%. Tech stocks were among the Dow’s best.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) also rallied after a very weak week up 3.6%. After a slew of flight cancellations during harsh winter weather across much of the United States, the airline has recently come under fire and pundits have complained about a lack of investment in technology.
