(CercleFinance.com) – As expected, Wall Street opened higher on Friday for the last session of July, which should see the S&P 500 index sign its best monthly performance since the end of 2020.
By late morning, the Dow Jones advanced 0.3% to 32,620 points, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed about 1% to 12,282.2 points.
The S&P 500 – which gains 0.6% and is trying to get back above the 4100 point threshold – is currently posting a monthly increase of more than 8% in July, which brings back its correction since the start of the year at almost 14%.
The upward trend in US equity markets, which has been in place since mid-June, was reinforced this week by the good results of several technology heavyweights, Microsoft and Alphabet in the lead.
The tech giants’ quarterly performance remained the focus today, with investors looking particularly encouraged by Apple’s release.
The title of the Californian firm rose 2.4% following better-than-expected iPhone and iPad sales, which reassured on the state of demand despite the impact of current supply problems and confinements in China.
Amazon jumped for its part by 12% after having exceeded the consensus in the second quarter and revised upwards its annual objectives, an announcement which again reassures on the strength of consumer demand.
Energy stocks are also supporting the rating after much better than expected quarterly results published by the ‘majors’ Chevron (+8%) and ExxonMobil (+4%).
In terms of statistics, market participants learned an hour before the opening that household spending had increased by 1.1% in June compared to the previous month in the United States, sending a reassuring signal on consumption, which remains the true engine of the country’s economy.
The test was transformed by the release of the US consumer confidence index, which rebounded stronger than expected in July.
In final data, the University of Michigan index came out at 51.5, a level slightly higher than its first estimate (51.1) and clearly up from the level of 50 reached in June, which was a historic low.
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