by Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Monday, at the start of a week that promises to be eventful with a range of quarterly results, economic data and the meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the outcome of which the American central bank will announce its decision on rates.
The Dow Jones index gained 1.58%, or 511.37 points, to 32,928.96 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 49.45 points, or 1.20%, to 4,166.82 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 146.47 points (1.16%) to 12,789.48 points.
Wall Street’s three main indexes rose more than 1%, rebounding from the decline recorded the previous week, in the wake of gains in high-growth stocks like Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, which are particularly sensitive to interest rates.
In recent weeks, the conflict in the Middle East and the rise in yields on US Treasury bonds have weighed on Wall Street, notably causing the S&P-500 to fall by 10% compared to its peak during last July’s session.
This Monday is a rebound linked to results, commented Oliver Pursche, vice-president of Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.
“The results are quite strong, the US economy continues to hang on and should continue to do so in the fourth quarter and the first part of next year,” he said.
In full acceleration since last week, the results season is now halfway through. Of the 251 S&P-500 companies that have already reported results, 78% have beaten expectations, according to LSEG data.
Analysts on average now anticipate an increase of 4.3% year-on-year in overall quarterly turnover for the S&P-500, compared to an estimate of +1.6% at the beginning of October.
Caterpillar, Apple, Pfizer and Starbucks Corp are among the big names with results due this week.
“There is less pessimism,” said Oliver Pursche. “The first and second quarters had a more negative tone. There was anxiety over interest rates” and a possible recession caused by Fed policy that “never happened,” he said. -he adds.
The Fed is expected to announce on Wednesday, at the end of its two-day meeting, that it will maintain interest rates at their current level.
The press release accompanying this decision and the press conference by the head of the American central bank, Jerome Powell, are particularly awaited by investors, looking for clues on the continuation of the Fed’s monetary policy.
The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are also due to decide on rates this week.
Economic data are also expected, culminating on Friday with the monthly report from the US Department of Labor.
All eleven major sectors of the S&P-500 ended the session in the green, led by communications services, up 2.1%.
McDonald’s gained 1.7% after publishing quarterly results better than expectations.
Onsemi plunged 21.8% after reporting a gloomy revenue forecast for the current quarter.
(French version Jean Terzian)
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