US stock markets continue to be buoyed by the return of buying appetite. The assumption of a lower rate hike by the Fed continues to give rise to optimism. Meanwhile, consumer confidence clouded somewhat unexpectedly.
After yesterday’s price fireworks, Wall Street kept the momentum and closed the last day of the trading week with profits – albeit at a significantly slower pace. Hopes of a less rigorous rate-hike path by the US Federal Reserve bolstered sentiment again. Investors drew new confidence from the consumer prices published the previous day. This was accompanied by good news from China. There, the strict pandemic restrictions are to be relaxed somewhat, which has been speculated about for a while.
“Weaker than expected inflation has buoyed markets and investors have rushed to invest some of the money they had on the sidelines,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
The Dow Jones index recovered from initial losses and gained 0.1 percent to 33,748 points. The day before he had recorded the largest daily increase in over two years. On a weekly basis there is now a plus of 4.2 percent. The S
However, the economic data of the day was weak: US consumer sentiment weakened much more than expected in November. US consumers play a key role in the US economy because around 70 percent of gross domestic product depends on private consumption.
The dollar, which had tumbled following the inflation data and falling market interest rates, continued to depreciate. With the prospect of the Chinese economy opening up again and supply bottlenecks easing as a result, the US currency was not in demand in its function as a safe haven. The dollar index fell another 1.7 percent. The euro, which was trading below parity ahead of Thursday’s inflation data, rose to $1.0357.
The good news from China helped oil prices to rise significantly. WTI and Brent prices climbed up to 2.9 percent. However, a large part of the upward trend at the end of the week came from the renewed weakness of the dollar, according to Schneider Electric analyst Robbie Fraser. On a weekly basis, WTI lost 3.9 percent.
The price of gold was further supported by bond yields, which had fallen sharply the previous day. The renewed weakness of the dollar also helped. The price of the troy ounce rose by 0.7 percent. The bond market was dormant for the Veterans Day holiday.
Corporate news from the USA still came mainly from the second and third tier. Among others, online legal technology company Legalzoom.com raised its revenue outlook, which saw the share price climb 10.4 percent.
Intel stock recovered from initial losses and gained as technology stocks continued to climb. The titles gained 2.3 percent. The fact that JP Morgan resumed monitoring underweight stocks weighed only at the open. The price had already jumped by over 8 percent the day before. In the Dow, Microsoft’s papers also continued to rise.
