The data has helped calm a jittery market and allowed stocks to rally back to near record highs. The S&P 500 is now just over 2% from its mid-July record high.
A great week for stocks could have a somewhat lackluster ending. All three major stock indexes opened lower in early trading, but they are still flirting with their highest weekly earnings of the yeara sharp turnaround from last week’s market turmoil, driven in part by disappointing July jobs data.
Investors got everything they wanted in recent days: Lower than expected inflation dataalong with a surprisingly strong retail sales report and a drop in jobless claims. Supporting investor expectations, two Federal Reserve officials on Thursday signaled they could support an interest rate cut in September.
The S&P 500 is down 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.3%. For the week, the S&P 500 is up more than 3%, putting the index on track for its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq is up 5%, while the 30-stock Dow is up about 3%.
Wall Street’s expectations
Retail sales data released Thursday were much stronger than economists had expected, while weekly jobless claims fell. Both offered evidence that recession fears, which helped trigger a global sell-off earlier this month, were overblown. Inflation readings released earlier this week reinforced hopes that a soft landing is still possible.
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The data has helped calm a jittery market and allowed stocks to rally to near record highs. The S&P 500 is now just over 2% from its mid-July record high.
“[Los] “The data released over the past week have struck the right balance – neither too hot nor too cold,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer for global wealth management at UBS, wrote on Friday. “This should help allay both concerns of an impending recession and that persistent inflation will hamper the Fed if quick rate cuts are needed to defend growth.”
Nvidia shares are among the biggest gainers among tech stocks this week, up 17%.Apple and Microsoft have advanced approximately 4% and 3%, respectively.
Source: Ambito
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