NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–After price data that was as expected, Wall Street closed with a slight increase on Thursday. The core rate of the personal expenditure price index (PCE deflator) for January met exactly the forecasts, both on a monthly and annual basis. What was particularly positive in the market was the fact that inflation had been revised downwards in the previous month.
This dispelled fears that inflation could pick up more significantly again. At the same time, hopes that the US Federal Reserve would soon cut interest rates remained alive with the data. The PCE deflator is the Fed’s preferred price measure. Weekly labor market data that was weaker than forecast also suggested hopes for interest rate cuts soon. Analysts were reinforced in their stance that the interest rate cutting cycle is unlikely to begin until the middle of the year. The mood of purchasing managers in the Chicago area deteriorated in February.
The Dow Jones Index gained 0.1 percent to 38,996 points. The S&P 500 rose by 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.9 percent. The 2,043 (Wednesday: 1,288) price winners on the Nyse were compared to 808 (1,541) losers, while 51 (82) stocks closed unchanged.
Moderate reaction to inflation data
On the bond market, prices rose with the PCE price data, while yields fell slightly. The yield on ten-year securities fell by 1.6 basis points to 4.25 percent.
The dollar initially fell slightly with the prospect of interest rate cuts, but was subsequently able to recover. The dollar index rose 0.1 percent. The weaker initial applications would also give the US Federal Reserve another reason to cut interest rates, it was said.
The gold price benefited from the prospect of falling interest rates. The troy ounce rose by 0.5 percent to $2,044.
Oil prices were volatile. Inflation data did not have a major impact. Brent and WTI prices fell by up to 0.4 percent. Overall, prices were said to be within a fairly close range of the previous day’s level. Falling interest rates could boost the US economy and increase demand.
Semiconductor stocks continue to be sought
Chip values continued their upward trend. The semiconductor sector in the S&P 500 was the daily winner with a premium of 2.3 percent. Intel shares gained 2.5 percent, Advanced Micro Devices advanced by 9.1 percent.
Salesforce shares recovered from initial slight declines and rose 3.0 percent. The SAP competitor performed above market expectations in terms of sales and profits in the fourth quarter, with cost reductions helping, but the sales outlook for the fiscal year 2025 was below the estimates previously circulating. Salesforce’s profit forecast was once again above the market consensus.
Okta (+22.9%) rose sharply. The identification technology expert has given an outlook that is well above previous expectations. Completely different with the cloud expert Snowflake. It wasn’t just the sales outlook that was disappointing. The immediate withdrawal of the company boss also caused uncertainty. The price collapsed by 18.1 percent.
The computer manufacturer HP met Wall Street’s expectations with its quarterly figures, but HP also warned that the PC market would continue to be volatile. The share lost 1.4 percent. AMC Entertainment fell 13.4 percent. The cinema operator reported an unexpectedly large loss, even as sales of concert films by Taylor Swift and Beyonce benefited.
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INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 38,996.39 +0.1% 47.37 +3.5%
S&P 500 5,096.27 +0.5% 26.51 +6.8%
Nasdaq Comp. 16,091.92 +0.9% 144.18 +7.2%
Nasdaq-100 18,043.85 +0.9% 169.35 +7.2%
US bonds
Maturity Yield Bp to VT Yield VT +/-Bp YTD
2 years 4.63 -0.7 4.64 21.0
5 years 4.24 -1.9 4.26 24.5
7 years 4.27 -1.3 4.29 30.3
10 years 4.25 -1.6 4.26 36.8
30 years 4.37 -3.9 4.41 39.7
FOREX last +/- % Thu, 10:20 Wed, 17:02 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.0808 -0.3% 1.0850 1.0835 -2.1%
EUR/JPY 162.02 -0.8% 162.51 163.37 +4.1%
EUR/CHF 0.9558 +0.3% 0.9528 0.9534 +3.0%
EUR/GBP 0.8562 +0.0% 0.8566 0.8563 -1.3%
USD/JPY 149.93 -0.5% 149.80 150.79 +6.4%
GBP/USD 1.2624 -0.3% 1.2665 1.2653 -0.8%
USD/CNH (Offshore) 7.2065 -0.1% 7.2085 7.2158 +1.2%
Bitcoin
BTC/USD 61,862.01 +0.9% 62,579.90 61,210.35 +42.1%
CRUDE OIL most recently VT-Settlem. +/-% +/- USD% YTD
WTI/Nymex 78.19 78.54 -0.4% -0.35 +8.0%
Brent/ICE 83.62 83.68 -0.1% -0.06 +8.7%
GAS VT Settlem. +/- EUR
Dutch TTF 25.3 25.56 -1.0% -0.25 -21.4%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold (spot) 2,044.01 2,034.41 +0.5% +9.60 -0.9%
Silver (spot) 22.68 22.50 +0.8% +0.18 -4.6%
Platinum (spot) 880.80 881.00 -0.0% -0.20 -11.2%
Copper future 3.85 3.84 +0.1% +0.00 -1.6%
YTD based on the previous day’s closing level
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DJG/DJN/ros
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 29, 2024 4:16 p.m. ET (21:16 GMT)