PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Monday at the start of a new week busy with corporate results and also marked by a meeting of the monetary policy committee of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), two elements which eclipse in the minds of investors the fears of a worsening of the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 247.6 points, or 0.76%, to 32,665.19 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.87% to 4,153.42 points.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03%, or 129.98 points, to 12,772.99 points.
The latest developments from the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army says it is moving forward “in accordance with the planned plan”, seem to have no impact on the financial markets, underlines Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown, according to which the offensive of Tsahal is widely anticipated by investors.
The latter are more focused on the monetary policy of the major central banks with announcements this week from the Fed, the Bank of England (BoE) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
According to CME’s Fedwatch barometer, the Fed is expected to again opt for the status quo on rates on Wednesday, while traders are counting on a similar decision from the BoE on Thursday following last week’s pause by the European Central Bank (ECB). .
However, uncertainty remains over the BoJ, with investors divided on whether to abandon the current accommodative policy.
On foreign exchange, the dollar lost 0.2% against a basket of reference currencies, while on the oil market, the barrel of Brent fell by 1.68% and gold, the safe haven asset par excellence, dropped 0. 36%, signs of a certain appetite for risk.
In terms of values, Apple, which is organizing a special event this Monday called “Scary Fast” during which it should, according to media reports, present new products, is ahead by 1.03%. The group will publish its quarterly results this week, just like Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Among the S&P 500 companies that have already published their quarterly accounts, 78% have exceeded analysts’ profit expectations.
McDonald’s, which reported better-than-expected profit and turnover for the third quarter on Monday, gained 0.57%.
Western Digital gained 8.622%, the memory chip manufacturer having announced on Monday its intention to split into two separate companies after the failure of negotiations for a merger with the Japanese group Kioxia.
*For values to track, click
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Bertand Boucey)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters