(New York) The New York Stock Exchange finished narrowly in the green on Thursday, stagnating throughout the session, without managing to cross the symbolic and historic bar of 5,000 points for the S&P 500 index, the most representative of the American market .
The Dow Jones which gained 0.13% to 38,726.33 points and the broader S&P 500 index which gained 0.06% to 4997.91 points, reached new highs, despite these minimal increases.
The technology-dominated NASDAQ gained 0.24% to 15,793.71 points.
During the session, the S&P 500 rose to within one point of the 5000 before giving up what little ground it had gained.
“When this milestone of 5,000 points is reached, it will be a significant milestone. It’s just a number, but it’s symbolic of the strength we’ve seen in stocks despite everything that’s happening in the world,” Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones, commented for AFP.
The market digested many corporate results, with Disney and microprocessor maker Arm Holding attracting all the investor interest. Bond rates rose to 4.15% for the ten-year bond compared to 4.12% the day before.
Disney rose 11.49% to $110.53, a one-year high for shares in the enchanted kingdom.
After good profits, the distribution of an increased dividend and a reduction in losses from its Disney+ streaming service, the group also made several announcements in entertainment.
The Californian group achieved 23.55 billion dollars in turnover for the period from October to December, the first quarter of its staggered financial year, of which it generated 2.15 billion in net profit, more than expected.
Disney also announced an investment in Epic Games, the publisher of the video game phenomenon Fortnite, for $1.5 billion.
Listed in New York, the British microprocessor champion Arm, a subsidiary of the Japanese group SoftBank, soared 47.89% to $113.89, which pushed its market valuation well above $100 billion. .
Between October and December, SoftBank posted a net profit of 950 billion yen (5.9 billion euros), compared to a heavy loss equivalent to 5.5 billion euros a year earlier.
SoftBank congratulated itself on Thursday for having diversified its investment portfolio in recent years, to initiate a shift towards artificial intelligence via Arm.
The shares of Confluent, a cloud services group, were highly sought after (+34.09%), after a turnover up 26% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. For the first time, the group generated a positive operating margin.
Electronic payment group Paypal fell 11.24%. While its fourth quarter exceeded expectations with sales of $8.03 billion, its profit forecast for 2024 disappointed the market.
Toy manufacturer Mattel (+0.32%) posted increased results in the fourth quarter, but it expects stable sales in 2024 and has launched a new savings plan.
The Barbie line, which represents a quarter of the group’s sales in the fourth quarter of 2023, saw its sales jump 27% riding on the eponymous film, the biggest box office success of the year.
The macroeconomic front was calm except for weekly applications for unemployment benefits which fell by 9,000 to 218,000, showing that the American labor market is still strong.
“The CPI inflation index, expected on Tuesday, will be the next catalyst,” predicted Angelo Kourkafas. “This will be a determining factor in knowing whether the 5,000 points of the S&P 500 will constitute a short-term ceiling or a step to go further and invite more investors” to bet on stocks.
The S&P/TSX index closes lower
The main Canadian stock index lost nearly 50 points on Thursday, weighed down by losses in the telecommunications and utilities sectors, while American stock markets made gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 49.54 points to 20,919.64.
This week was quieter in terms of news than last week, when the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, cast a damper on hopes of a rate cut in March, noted Konstantin Boehmer , head of fixed income at Mackenzie Investments.
This still has an effect on markets today, he said.
If economic data continues to be good, rate expectations could continue to be pushed back, Boehmer said.
“We’re in limbo,” he said, as investors eye economic data and wait for signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve may begin cutting rates.
“They’re very close, but they’re just not there yet to pull the trigger,” he said.
The situation is similar in Canada, with inflation still above the levels sought by the Bank of Canada, said Mr. Boehmer.
“Inflation is still not where it should be. But ultimately, they will most likely be in the same boat as the United States, he said. The United States is the captain and the Bank of Canada is probably the first mate of this same ship. »
There will be a revision of U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Friday, Boehmer noted — not normally a particularly relevant release, but this time around, the context is different.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller indicated that this could be a very important data release.
“In his January 16 speech, he specifically mentioned this CPI revision as key information that could give Federal Reserve Committee members the confidence they need to make further progress […] on their path to lower interest rates,” Boehmer said.
“Because it’s important to the Fed, it’s important to us. »
If the CPI is revised downward, that could raise expectations that interest rates will begin to cut, Boehmer said.
“If there was a significant downward revision, the market would jump on it with open arms,” he argued.
The Canadian dollar stood at 74.26 US cents, up from 74.24 US cents on Wednesday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil rose US$2.36 to US$76.22 per barrel and natural gas lost five cents to US$1.92 per million BTU.
Gold was down US$3.80 at US$2,047.90 an ounce and copper was down three cents at US$3.70 a pound.
The Canadian Press