Dow closes in positive territory
Wall Street holds its own
September 25, 2023, 10:40 p.m
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The US stock exchanges managed to stabilize further at the start of the week. However, the indices only achieve a plus towards the end of trading. The continued high interest rates weigh on investors’ minds throughout the day.
The US stock exchanges closed with slight surcharges at the beginning of the week. Trading was characterized by sharply rising yields on the bond market. The Dow Jones Index closed 0.1 percent higher at 34,007 points. For the S&P 500 it went up by 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite quoted 0.5 percent higher. There were a total of 1,402 (Friday: 1,372) price winners and 1,509 (1,513) losers. 87 (94) titles closed unchanged.
The dispute over government spending in the USA was also in focus. There is a risk that state institutions will be closed on October 1st if an agreement is not reached in time. The mood was somewhat dampened by the crisis in the Chinese real estate market after the ailing industry giant Evergrande withdrew its plan to restructure debt worth $35 billion. However, investors are also likely to hold back in anticipation of important economic data that will be published later this week.
The main focus is on Friday’s PCE index, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. On the economic side, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index was published on Monday. This slipped into negative territory in August with a level of minus 0.16. In the previous month an index level of plus 0.07 was recorded.
Walt Disney weak – cinema chain titles wanted
Among the individual values fell HP by 1.8 percent after Berkshire Hathaway sold about $130 million worth of HP shares, according to a statement Friday. Shares in film studios and streaming services traded mixedly after the screenwriters’ strike ended. There seems to be no agreement in sight regarding the actors’ strike. Paramount Global increased 0.2 percent, Warner Bros Discovery fell 4.0 percent, while Walt Disney 0.3 percent fell. Netflix However, they gained 1.3 percent.
Potential beneficiaries of the end of the strike are also the cinema chains, which rely on being able to attract visitors with new films. Cinemark gained 2.7 percent, while AMC Entertainment increased by 6.8 percent. IMAX advanced 1.5 percent.
Air Canada has ordered 18 wide-body 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing (+0.5%) as part of its fleet renewal. Foot Locker lost 1.8 percent and Urban Outfitters 0.5 percent. Jefferies downgraded the two stocks to Hold from Buy. Analysts expect consumer spending to decline due to upcoming student loan repayments.
Dollar somewhat firmer – yields rise sharply
At the Foreign exchange market the dollar was a little stronger. The dollar index rose 0.4 percent. The dollar is maintaining recent gains after the Federal Reserve suggested last week that interest rates could remain high next year, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, foreign exchange strategist at Swissquote. The main focus this week will be Friday’s Eurozone inflation numbers, where any weakness could send the dollar higher against the euro.
At the Bond market Bond yields rose significantly again. It was said that the US Federal Reserve’s “hawkish” statements had an impact here. Investors bet on long-term high interest rates. The 10-year yield rose 10.0 basis points to 4.54 percent, the highest level since 2007.
The Oil prices were quoted little changed at a high level after the slight declines the previous day. A persistent supply gap due to funding cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia recently caused prices to rise significantly. Russia had also announced that it was imposing a temporary ban on exports of gasoline and diesel due to the approaching winter. The Gold price fell as the dollar strengthened and yields rose. The price of the troy ounce fell by 0.5 percent.