(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Friday, spurred on by new signs of decelerating inflation and corporate results deemed generally satisfactory.
The Dow Jones gained 0.50%, the NASDAQ index gained 1.90% and the broad index S
Inflation slowed further in June in the United States, to 3.0% year on year in June, according to the PCE index, favored by the American central bank (Fed).
Excluding food and energy, inflation is still at 4.1%, but it is well below the 4.6% recorded in May, but also slightly below the 4.2% expected by economists.
After the release of these numbers, “we don’t see any further rate hikes from the Fed by the end of the year, but central bankers won’t hesitate to turn the screw around again if the coming data surprised on the upside,” Oren Klachkin of Oxford Economics said in a note.
Taking note, bond rates eased. The yield on 10-year US government bonds fell to 3.95% from 3.99% the day before closing.
“Throughout the week, the information we have received points to an ideal scenario for the economy”, that of a gradual downgrade, without braking, summarized Angelo Kourkafas, of Edward Jones.
“Inflation is slowing, consumers are still spending, and corporate results have been decent,” he said, “the combination of all of which is market-friendly. »
The consumer confidence index jumped to 71.6 points in July, from 64.4 points the previous month, according to the University of Michigan survey, released Friday.
After taking a break in recent weeks, the big fish of the NASDAQ regained control on Friday, in particular Meta (4.42%), Tesla (4.42%) or Microsoft (2.31%).
Among the values of the new economy, the New York place also celebrated the specialist in data analysis Palantir (10.28%), one of the jewels of artificial intelligence, after a favorable note from analysts of Wedbush Securities.
As for the Dow Jones, it was pushed in the back by the hygiene and cleaning products giant Procter
The Cincinnati (Ohio) company is even counting, for its 2024 financial year (started in July), on higher growth (from 3 to 4%) than that of the previous one (2%).
Another driver of the flagship Wall Street index, Intel (6.60%), whose return to profits after two quarters in the red surprised analysts, who expected another loss in the second quarter. The Santa Clara (California) group benefited from a slight strengthening in demand for computers and servers for data storage centers.
The Dow Jones, on the other hand, could not count on the oil companies Exxon Mobil (-1.80%) and Chevron (-0.49%) which suffered from a sharp decline in results in the second quarter, after an exceptional 2022 vintage. , marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the surge in black gold prices.
Although it exceeded expectations for its net profit, Chevron was not much better off than its rival ExxonMobil, whose result came out below expectations.
Automaker Ford fell (-3.39%) despite better-than-expected second quarter results, supported by its prices, and an increase in annual forecasts, some investors worried about losses generated by the entity dedicated to electric vehicles.
Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng, listed on Wall Street, was still wanted (15.68%) after Wednesday’s announcement of a partnership with Volkswagen.
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed Friday up more than 100 points, buoyed by gains in the energy, information technology and health care sectors, while major U.S. indices also rose.
The composite index S
Economic data was the main driver of market gains on Friday, observed Macan Nia, co-head of investment strategies at Manulife Investment Management.
Two of the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation measures were released on Friday, showing continued signs of inflationary easing, Nia said.
“Markets view this as a positive sign that the US Federal Reserve is much closer to pausing today than it was a quarter ago,” he said.
In the forex market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 75.57 US cents, down from 75.75 US cents on Thursday.