NEW YORK (awp international) – Even after three weak trading days in a row, the leading US index Dow Jones Industrial was unable to recover on Wednesday. After temporary but clear price gains, the Dow was recently down 0.10 percent to 35,335 points. In the past few days, high inflation and the associated expectation of a significantly more restrictive monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve had weighed on the stock exchanges.
The market-wide S&P 500 was slightly up 0.08 percent to 4581 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which had come under more pressure recently, rose 0.32 percent to 15,258 points.
According to stockbrokers, speculation is increasing that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in March by more than the 0.25 percentage point previously expected. It would tackle persistently high inflation in the United States with a higher interest rate hike.
After a strong quarter, the consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble increased its sales target for the fiscal year running until the end of June. In the second fiscal quarter, sales climbed by six percent, exceeding market expectations. Business with household and health products was the main driver. Procter shares rose 3.6 percent at the top of the Dow.
In the second Corona year, the major insurer UnitedHealth exceeded its profit target, which had been raised several times. Net income attributable to shareholders for 2021 was $17.3 billion, up 12 percent year-over-year. The UnitedHealth papers rose by 0.7 percent.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley did surprisingly well in equities trading in the fourth quarter of 2021. Sales in this segment increased by 13 percent, and analysts had hardly expected any change compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The stock gained 2.4 percent.
Unlike other US financial institutions, Bank of America also ended 2021 with a surprisingly good quarter. Thanks to increased income and the reversal of provisions for loan defaults, the institute earned significantly more than a year earlier. The share price increased by 0.7 percent.
Ford shares fell 6.7 percent. Here, as the day before, investors made price gains after the papers had increased by more than 70 percent since the beginning of October./bek/nas
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