Soaring for Spotify
Corporate figures are creating a good mood on Wall Street
April 23, 2024, 11:29 p.m
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Strong corporate balance sheets are creating a buying mood on Wall Street. Papers from the streaming provider Spotify are particularly in demand. The US airline JetBlue, on the other hand, cannot score points with investors.
The current accounting season is creating a good mood on the US stock market. The Dow Jones Index the standard values closed 0.7 percent higher at 38,503 points. The broader one S&P 500 advanced by 1.2 percent to 5070 points. The technology stock market index Nasdaq gained 1.6 percent to 15,696 jobs.
Among other things, shares in the music streaming service were in demand Spotify, which increased by around eleven percent after a record profit. Numbers from also ensured a good mood GE Aerospace and General Motors. The engine manufacturer’s shares climbed by around eight percent and those of the car manufacturer by a good four percent. “The forecasts in the first round of earnings season have been pretty good so far,” said Brent Schutte, chief investor at asset manager Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. “This week is very important and will set the tone for what happens in the next few weeks.”
Waiting for further company figures
The shares of the world’s largest parcel service were also in demand UPS with an increase of 2.4 percent. The DHL rival had to accept a slump in profits in the first quarter due to increased personnel costs and weak demand. As a result of the collective bargaining dispute for around 340,000 US employees last year, UPS lost numerous customers to competitors such as FedEx. However, UPS expects a return to volume and sales growth in the future and therefore reiterated its annual targets.
Meanwhile, people flew out of the depots JetBlue, which lost 18.8 percent. The US low-cost airline had scaled back its annual forecast. Rivals such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines also lost their titles.
Investors were now eagerly awaiting the figures from US tech companies such as Facebook parent Meta, IT group IBM and Google parent Alphabet, which would be released later this week. “The current reporting season on Wall Street is reaching its peak, with a total of 180 companies with a market capitalization of over 40 percent of the S&P 500 reporting in the coming days,” said Konstantin Oldenburger, analyst at broker CMC Markets. Of the 102 companies in the S&P 500 that have presented their figures so far, almost 80 percent exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to LSEG data.
Investors are hoping for interest rate cuts
There were also positive impulses on the economic side. The US economy lost momentum in April, fueling new hopes that the Fed would cut interest rates relatively soon. The monetary authorities are trying to curb inflation with increased interest rates without stalling the economic engine. The purchasing managers’ index for the private sector – industry and service providers together – fell by 1.2 to 50.9 points, as the financial services provider S&P Global announced in its monthly company survey. This is the lowest value in four months.
“Momentum could weaken further in the coming months,” said S&P Global chief economist Chris Williamson. The reason: new business shrank for the first time in six months. “The tougher business environment led companies to cut headcount at levels not seen since the global financial crisis, with the exception of the early months of the pandemic,” Williamson said.
According to the information, weaker demand and the slowdown in the labor market led to decreasing price pressure. Accordingly, service providers reported the second lowest cost increase in the past three and a half years.
You can find everything else about today’s stock market events here.