Hardly any movement on Wall Street
Dow creeps into the weekend
04/21/2023, 11:20 p.m
Mixed corporate balance sheets and a certain perplexity in the face of the latest economic data prevent US stock markets from finding a clear direction on Friday. In terms of individual values, Procter & Gamble is on the up, and Tesla is also picking itself up again.
The US stock exchanges closed at the end of the week with little change. The latest US economic data made investors cautious. All three major US indices gained 0.1 percent. The Dow Jones Index the standard values closed at 33,808 points, the broader one S&P 500 at 4133 and the technology exchange index Nasdaq at 12,072 points. For the past week, this results in a discount of 0.1 percent for the S&P, 0.2 percent for the Dow and 0.4 percent for the Nasdaq.
Investors found it difficult to interpret the latest economic data. The purchasing managers’ index for US manufacturing in April rose from 49.2 to 50.4 points, the barometer for US service providers from 52.6 to 53.7 points. Experts polled by Refinitiv had expected declines to 49.0 and 51.5 respectively. “This rise helps explain why core inflation has been tenacious and points to further upside, or at least some dovishness, in consumer prices,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at research house S&P Global
Concerns that stubborn inflation would prompt the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further gold price to. When interest rates rise, investors are more likely to invest in safe, but interest-bearing assets rather than buying gold, which pays no interest. This pushes the price of gold down. The yellow metal fell 1.1 percent to $1,981 a troy ounce. The previous day it had increased 0.6 percent. “The uncertainty about where interest rates will go, which should become much clearer over the next month or two, is at the root of the indecisiveness we’re seeing in gold right now,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
The strong economic data, however, supported the oil prices. The North Sea crude oil variety Brent and the light US variety WTI increased in price by around half a percent to 81.65 and 77.81 dollars per barrel (159 liters) respectively.
In the case of the individual values, group balance sheets and forecasts were in the limelight. Investors rose at about Procter & Gamble after the company raised its revenue target for 2023. The titles of the US consumer goods group gained 3.5 percent.
An increased forecast also inspired HCA Healthcare, which climbed 3.8 percent. The company said it was able to expand its operational capacity as its workforce has almost reached pre-coronavirus levels. rivals like Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems and Universal Health Services followed HCA into the plus and gained between 3.2 and 15 percent. “Investors are pleased with the results so far because the lack of bad news is also good news,” said Adam Sarhan of investment firm 50 Park. “Now they would like to know if some of the big technology companies can also present positive results.” After the disappointments of Netflix and Tesla, the numbers of Google’s mother Alphabet, the Internet giant Meta, as well as Amazon and Microsoft are expected next week.
Also in demand was the share of Tesla, which gained 1.3 percent. The US electric car maker has raised prices for both its Model S and Model X. Tesla had recently aggressively reduced prices, six times in the United States alone. CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that he wanted to defend his market share at the expense of the profit margin.