(CercleFinance.com) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Wednesday, relying on the good health of the distribution sector to continue its strong progression of the day before and of the last two weeks.
At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones rose 0.5% to 34,993.1 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6% to 14,186.5 points.
The trend is largely supported by the better than expected results of Target, which allowed it to climb by more than 17% and sign by far the largest increase in the S&P 500 index.
More generally, the announcements from the discount distributor have fueled optimism about the scenario of a soft landing for the American economy.
Target’s good quarterly results are also fueling hopes for the holiday shopping season, which kicks off next week with ‘Black Friday’.
The Commerce Department announced this morning that retail sales fell 0.1% in October, less than analysts expected.
Excluding automobiles and fuels – the component of the statistic best corresponding to the consumption measure used in the GDP calculation – retail sales increased by 0.1%.
Another good surprise comes from the ‘Empire State’ index calculated by the local Fed, which climbed 14 points to return to positive territory and reach 9.1 in November.
On the bond compartment, the yield on Treasuries is rising again to return above 4.53%, after its sudden decline the day before which saw it drop by almost 20 basis points in one session.
At 1.0865, the dollar is also trying to make a technical rebound after its fall the day before, which had allowed the euro to flirt again with the 1.09 mark, a level not seen since the end of the ‘summer.
Due to the strengthening of the dollar, oil is sinking into the red, the barrel of light American crude is currently dropping 1.5% towards 77 dollars following the announcement of a weekly increase in crude oil stocks.
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