new York Wall Street investors were encouraged on Thursday by the fact that US consumers were more willing to spend again. The Dow Jones gained 1.3 percent to 34,408 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.2 percent to 13,783 points and the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 percent to 4,426 points.
According to the information, US retail sales rose by a surprising 0.3 percent in May. “Right now, there are a lot of people waiting on the sidelines for fear of a recession,” said David Russell, manager at brokerage firm TradeStation. “As those concerns fade, they’re turning back to stocks.” Private consumption is seen as the mainstay of the world’s largest economy.
The US currency, on the other hand, came under selling pressure. The dollar index, which tracks rates against major currencies, fell 0.8 percent. On Wednesday evening (CEST), the US Federal Reserve decided not to raise the key rate any further, but indicated two further steps by the end of the year.
Market traders pointed out that the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates on Thursday and signaled the next step for July. The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to follow suit in the coming week. As a result, the euro and sterling were each up about one percent, to $1.0946 and $1.2785, respectively.
At the same time, investors stocked up on crude oil. The US variety WTI rose in price by 3.4 percent to $70.56 per barrel (159 liters). According to stockbrokers, a sharp increase in the production of Chinese refineries fueled speculation that demand from the world’s largest buyer would increase.
Fast-casual restaurant chain Cava Group Inc. has more than doubled in its Wall Street debut after beating its IPO target with earnings of $318 million.
US stock market expert Koch: “Wall Street reacts calmly to interest rate pause”
Shares in the Cava restaurant opened Thursday at $42 and are up as much as 113 percent. The company sold more than 14 million shares Wednesday at $22 a share, after previously listing them for $19 to $20, a range it previously widened. The stock closed 99 percent up. The Mediterranean restaurant’s IPO, one of the few bright spots in a bleak year for U.S. IPOs, is the sixth-biggest of 2023, not counting greenshoe stocks, according to data from Bloomberg.
Look at the individual values
MicrosoftApple: In the technology stocks, Microsoft ended trading up 3.2 percent and thus at a new record closing level. Apple also posted a record after rising 1.1 percent.
Manchester United: In contrast, the titles of Manchester United listed in the USA rose by almost 15 percent at times. According to insiders, the English first division soccer club is negotiating exclusively with a consortium led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani from Qatar about a takeover worth more than six billion dollars. The stock closed 6.8 percent higher.
Aldeyra Therapeutics: The biotech company has announced advances in a drug to treat eye infections. The papers rose by 3.97 percent.
China stocks: An easing of the Chinese monetary policy gives the US stocks of companies from the People’s Republic tailwind. Online retailers Alibaba and JD.com rose 3.18 percent and 3.42 percent, respectively. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) had lowered the reference rate for one-year loans.
Domino’s Pizza: Papers of the pizza chain increased by 6.46 percent. The investment bank Stifel had previously upgraded the shares from “hold” to “buy”.
Kroger: In terms of stock values, Kroger was one of the losers with a price drop of 2.7 percent. The supermarket chain posted surprisingly high earnings of $1.51 per share in the past quarter, but disappointed with sales of $45.17 billion. In addition, the improvement in the profit margin is likely to be only temporary, warned analyst Bill Kirk of the investment bank Roth.
Crypto Sector: Bitcoin’s slide to a three-month low is dragging stocks in the cryptocurrency sector lower. Shares in Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital fell 1.77 percent and 3.41 percent, respectively. Coinbase rose 0.65 percent, Microstrategy fell 1.75 percent.
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