PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened virtually stable the day after a record S&P-500 session as investors digested a new series of positive results from major companies.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 24.26 points, or 0.06%, to 38,701.62 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.01% to 4,995.77 points.
The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.09%, or 13.44 points, to 15,770.092.
The gains are however modest while technical resistance is now weighing on the indices since the S&P 500 peaked on Wednesday at an unprecedented high of 4,999.89 points, very close to the symbolic bar of 5,000 points, and the Nasdaq did not only needs an increase of 2.8% to exceed its historic level of November 2021.
As in previous sessions, discussions are animated by company publications.
More than half of the S&P-500 companies released their quarterly results and 81.2% of them beat expectations, compared to a long-term average of 67%, according to LSEG data released earlier this week.
Investors also continue to monitor indicators on the evolution of the trajectory of interest rates and the economic situation, while several central bankers recently stressed that the strength of the American economy made monetary easing less urgent.
Unemployment claims fell in the United States last week to 218,000, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.
“Economic growth is perfectly decent while many were predicting a recession this time last year,” notes David Morrison, market analyst at Trade Nation.
In terms of values, Walt Disney jumped 9.63% after its board approved a three billion dollar share buyback plan for the 2024 fiscal year.
ARM soars 36.90%, driven by its forecasts against a backdrop of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
The luxury sector is well oriented with the results and forecasts of Ralph Lauren (+10.73%), Tapestry (+6.46%) and Coty (+2.62%).
PayPal, on the other hand, fell 8.37%, with the digital payments specialist anticipating stability in its adjusted profit for this year.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)
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