new York Surprisingly strong corporate balance sheets sent Wall Street higher on Thursday. The Dow Jones gained 1.6 percent to 33,826 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 2.4 percent to 12,142 points and the broad-based S&P 500 was up 2 percent to 4135 points.
According to analysts, business results from giants such as Facebook parent Meta have outweighed fears about the economy and concerns about banks, according to figures from the US regional bank First Republic. “If you look at Microsoft and Meta, the rumors about the Nasdaq going down were grossly exaggerated,” said David Russell of online broker TradeStation. “A lot of people wanted to bury the technology and said it was dead forever. But now there is a good chance for growth stocks to make a comeback.”
At the same time, the latest US economic data gave conflicting indications of what the US Federal Reserve might do next. On the one hand, the local gross domestic product was surprisingly weak with an annual increase of 1.1 percent in the first quarter. On the other hand, the number of weekly jobless claims, which came in well below forecasts, indicated continued strength in the job market.
The Fed tries to raise interest rates just enough to dampen inflation without slowing down the economy too much. Therefore, weak economic data can fuel hopes for smaller rate hikes.
“Economic reports continue to show a mix of slowing and accelerating trends,” said portfolio manager Thomas Martin of US wealth manager Globalt. “It’s hard to tell how much good news is good news and vice versa when it comes to what the Fed should do.”
Look at other individual values:
Meta: Meta’s stock jumped almost 14 percent. The Facebook parent promised surprisingly high sales for the current quarter after business at the beginning of the year was better than expected thanks to advertising revenue.
Eli Lilly: The shares of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly also gained almost 3.7 percent according to figures. The company has raised its sales and earnings guidance on strong demand for its diabetes drug Mounjaro. The prospect of Mounjaro being approved as a treatment for obesity in the US also appeared to have gone down well with investors. Eli Lilly wants to submit the corresponding application in the coming weeks, so approval could take place at the end of 2023.
Comcast: The papers of the US cable network operator Comcast climbed 10.2 percent after balance sheets. Caterpillar, on the other hand, went down. According to numbers, the title of the construction machinery manufacturer lost almost 0.9 percent.
Wall Street expert Koch: “The reaction to good results leaves something to be desired”
Caterpillar: The US construction machinery manufacturer increased its profit thanks to high demand and price increases. This was not least due to the US construction industry, which was encouraged to spend more due to the government’s infrastructure laws. Caterpillar’s construction equipment business saw sales up 33 percent in North America. On Wall Street, the stock was down 0.86 percent.
First Republic Bank: The shares of the ailing bank from San Francisco were able to stop the downward trend and even turned positive. The stock shed about 60 percent of its value this week after the company said Monday it lost about $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter. The stock was up 8.6 percent.
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