(New York) The New York Stock Exchange moved modestly in the green on Tuesday, trying to extend an eighth week in a row in positive territory.
The Dow Jones index advanced 0.40%, the NASDAQ rose 0.37% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.31% around 10 a.m. Eastern time.
On Monday, the Dow Jones ended in balance at 37,306.02 points. The NASDAQ advanced 0.61% to 14,905.20 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.45%, to 4740.56 points.
For Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com, the market is on an upward trend, fueled “by falling market rates, by growing expectations for rate cuts and by the belief that the economy will experience a landing in softness despite previous Fed rate hikes.”
He notes, however, that the positive morning trend “is not necessarily robust, but the key factor is that the selling movement is even less pronounced.”
The market also kept an eye on geopolitical factors with attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels against merchant ships in the Red Sea.
The escalation of tensions led to the formation in the Red Sea of a coalition in which around ten countries participated.
“This may serve as a reminder that current geopolitical risks may disrupt expectations that the economy is on track for a soft landing with a Fed rate cut,” said Will Compernolle, macro strategist at FHN Financial.
Stock market indices were supported by relaxed bond rates such as that on ten-year Treasury bills at 3.92%, a little below the level of the day before.
Furthermore, real estate data on new housing construction starts in the United States surprised by their good performance in November (+14.8% from one month to the next).
They provided a new argument in favor of the hypothesis of a soft landing for the economy, underlined Patrick O’Hare.
During the week, data on the manufacturing industry and consumer confidence will also be expected.
“But the key element will be the update of the PCE inflation index,” recalls Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
“If the basic PCE figure comes close to expectations”, which are +0.2% for the month of November, “the buzz around the drop in interest rates could continue”, says the analyst.
On the market, after favorable notes from analysts, the shares of the solar energy equipment company Sunnova gained 14.12%. Arvinas, a laboratory specializing in cancer treatments, soared 6.21%, also benefiting from momentum affecting the pharmaceutical sector. Bristol-Myers Squibb took 1%, Amgen +0.72%.
Several big names in technology were well placed such as AMD (+1.89%), Meta (+1.98%), but Nvidia, whose stock has multiplied by more than three since the start of the year, gave way. 2% to $490.
The steelmaker US Steel, which had jumped 26% the day before after the announcement of a takeover agreement by the Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation for around $14.1 billion, lost 0.52% to $49.33.
The price proposed by the buyer is $55 per security.