Wall Street hit new records on Friday after inflation figures came in line with expectations, with the market hoping that this will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut rates soon.
At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones index gained 0.7% to 39,429.1 points, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 5515.9 points, after having established a new historic high at 5523.6 points.
The Nasdaq Composite for its part advanced 0.6% to 17,960.8 points after briefly exceeding the 18,000 point mark and reaching a new absolute record at 18,035 points.
Over the entire first half, which will close this evening, the Dow gained 4.2%, the S&P almost 15% and the Nasdaq around 19%.
US stock markets are benefiting at the best time – that is, during the last session of the week, of the month of June and of the half-year – from a boost from the economy thanks to a good ‘PCE’ index.
The Commerce Department reported earlier in the morning that the consumer price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, rose just 0.1% in May.
Core PCE inflation, which excludes volatile items such as energy and food, also showed a very limited increase of 0.1%.
This is its lowest monthly variation in three and a half years.
‘This will allow the Fed to focus more on the labor market, and a little less on inflation,’ comments Bastien Drut, head of strategy and economic studies at CPR AM.
These figures have reinforced the prospect of a first rate cut by the Fed in September, the probability of which is now estimated at 61% by investors, against more than 59% the day before.
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries – which has been on a downward slope for two weeks – is nevertheless continuing its upward movement to return above 4.30%.
The only disappointment of the day was Nike, which fell 19% as the world’s leading sporting goods manufacturer reported disappointing sales for the past quarter and revised its targets upwards.
On the oil front, oil prices are consolidating a little but are nevertheless heading towards a third consecutive week of progression, with a barrel of light Texan crude (WTI) losing less than 0.5% to 81.4 dollars.
Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
