(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Friday, benefiting from a bargain hunt to end a lackluster week.
Updated yesterday at 4:44 p.m.
The Dow Jones ended with a gain of 1.65% to 34,725.47 points, the NASDAQ index, of 3.13% to 13,770.57 points, and the broader S&P 500 index of 2.43% to 4431.85 points.
The markets “regained some of the ground lost during this volatile week,” summed up the Schwab analysts in a note.
According to Edward Moya, an analyst at Oanda, investors particularly noted the lower-than-expected rise in the cost of employment in the United States in the fourth quarter (+1.0%), an indicator closely followed by the American Central Bank (Fed ) to assess the path of inflation.
The other macroeconomic indicators were quickly digested, in particular the PCE index (at 5.8% over one year as expected) which measures inflation and is also considered decisive for the Fed.
After a red start to the session, Wall Street was the scene of a bargain hunt, which benefited some of the most battered titles in recent weeks.
While its quarterly results showed a slowdown in its activity and the title had opened sharply lower, the brokerage platform Robinhood closed with a marked gain of 9.65%, to register at 12.73 dollars.
Same phenomenon at work for the electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian (+5.90% to 57.12 dollars). After touching, in session, the lowest level since its IPO last November, the group rebounded to end up sharply.
Some martyrs of the rating, such as the pharmaceutical laboratory Novavax (+13.71%), the specialist in online credit purchases Affirm (+17.06%), or the meal delivery platform DoorDash (+7.89% ), also took advantage of the momentum.
The dynamic also came from the world’s largest capitalization, Apple, highly sought after after its historic results, published Thursday after the stock market (+6.98% to 170.33 dollars).
In a single session, the firm at the apple gained more than 180 billion dollars in capitalization.
Nothing seems to be able to stop the group from Cupertino (California), not even the supply difficulties, which Apple sees being reduced from the current quarter.
Following Apple, Wall Street heavyweights Microsoft and Alphabet gained 2.81% and 3.23% respectively.
Also in the spotlight, the credit card specialist Visa (+10.60% to 228.00 dollars), which published results better than analysts’ forecasts and made optimistic comments on the trajectory of the economy in pandemic exit.
If the indices have raised their heads before the weekend, few were those who ventured to speak of a lasting rebound.
“We expect the market to retest the levels we’ve seen this week,” warned Eric Freedman, chief investment officer for US Bank Wealth Management, specifically the S&P 500.
For him, investors remain worried about the direction the Fed is taking.
“We think there will be a moderate slowdown in the (US) economy and corporate earnings over the next two quarters, but if the Fed is too aggressive, it will get worse,” the statement said. analyst.
In addition, the stagnation in the Ukraine crisis and the continued spike in energy prices add to the threat to economic activity.
“The pitched battle” between the “bulls” (referring to the bull which goes from bottom to top when it gores), which play the rise, and the “bears” (reference to the bear which attacks from top to bottom), who play the decline, “ended in a draw this week,” summarized Art Hogan, of National Securities.
For him, the high volatility observed this week, as well as the large trading volumes, suggest that we are “closer to the floor than the ceiling”.
In the second part of the session, Friday, the VIX index, which measures market volatility, fell sharply.