The New York Stock Exchange opened higher, thanks to news of a respite from the psychodrama of debt in Congress, as well as a decline in energy prices. Around 2:00 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones rose 1.39% to 34,895.03 points, the Nasdaq index, which includes a lot of technology stocks, gained 1.37% to 14,701.15 points and the expanded index S&P 500, 1.31% at 4,420.71 points.
For Karl Haeling, of the LBBW bank, the market was benefiting from a lull in the energy market, with in particular an oil price which stabilized below the highs at the start of the week.
He was also satisfied with the prospect of an agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on an extension of the deadline to raise the debt ceiling. The solution would only be temporary, moving the deadline from mid-October to December, still with the threat of a United States default on its debt if the ceiling is not raised in time.
But for Karl Haeling, the momentum might not be enough to keep the indices in the green throughout the session. “With the jobs report tomorrow, a lot of people are going to be reluctant to take up positions”, he anticipated.
On Wednesday, the ADP cabinet reported that in September, the private sector had created 568,000 jobs in the United States, much more than expected by analysts. Thursday, the Department of Labor reported a drop in weekly jobless claims to 326,000 people, less than expected. The operators thus expect more and more a good figure of job creations in September also emanating from the Ministry of Labor on Friday.
This time, for Karl Haeling, the question is not so much to take the pulse of the economy as whether the figure is “high enough to push the Fed to act”, that is to say start a tightening of its monetary policy.
Recent statements by US Central Bank Chairman Jerome Powell have left investors thinking that “the bar is not very high” to encourage the Fed to get going.
Even a figure significantly lower than the 450,000 job creations expected by analysts could be sufficient, in the general opinion.
Monetary perspective
The prospect of imminent monetary tightening has contributed to bond yields tension. After falling to 1.51% on Wednesday, the 10-year US government bond rate was up Thursday to 1.55%.
On the microeconomic level, the American laboratory Pfizer benefited (+ 1.82% to 42.78 dollars) from the announcement Thursday of the filing with the American Agency of drugs FDA of a request for authorization of its anti-vaccine. Covid for children aged 5 to 11.
The maker of the famous 501 jeans Levi Strauss jumped (+ 8.11% to 26.21 dollars) at the start of the session after announcing Wednesday a profit and a turnover above expectations.
The group said it had benefited from its strategy of diversifying its sources of supply so as not to be too dependent on a single country. This allowed him to better manage the logistical crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The market applauded the acquisition by the diverse media and internet group IAC (+ 5.99% to $ 139.57) of Meredith (6.56% to $ 58.13), publisher of several magazines, including People, and owner of local television channels.
The automaker General Motors was well oriented (+ 2.54% to 55.30 dollars) after having unveiled an ambitious goal on Wednesday, namely the doubling of its turnover by 2030, thanks to an acceleration in the market electronic vehicles as well as services and software.
Twitter was up sharply (+ 3.46% to 63.41 dollars), helped by the prospect of the sale of the advertising network MoPub for 1.05 billion dollars to the services group for creators of applications AppLovin (+8.59 % to 83.62 dollars). The social network thus wishes to refocus on its platform.
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