(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, reassured by the words of the president of the American central bank (Fed), an easing in the bond market and rather solid company results.
The Dow Jones gained 0.85%, the NASDAQ index rose 1.51% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.91%.
“Investors breathed a sigh of relief because Fed Chairman (Jerome) Powell said a rate hike was unlikely,” CFRA’s Sam Stovall said of Wednesday’s press conference. .
A small jump in inflation in March, to 3.5% over one year, had made some investors fear that the Federal Reserve would decide to tighten the rate screw further to bring prices back into line.
“Even though he (Powell) reminded us that the Fed would make its decisions based on macroeconomic data, he also indicated that he still expected inflation to come down and rates to fall,” added Sam Stovall.
Wall Street also welcomed the decision of central bankers to slow down the reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet. This will significantly reduce the volume of Treasury bills that the market must absorb each month to replace the Fed.
“It’s a bit like having lowered rates, because it took pressure off the bond market, which will also benefit stocks,” according to Sam Stovall.
The yield on 2-year American bonds thus fell suddenly, to 4.87%, compared to 4.96% the day before at the close.
This ebb and the prospect of a reduction in Fed rates, even if the deadline is uncertain, initially benefited the technology sector, which took off again at full speed, like Nvidia (+3.34% ), Amazon (+3.20%) or Apple (+2.20%), whose results were expected after the close.
But the movement has spread well beyond, notably to so-called cyclical values, that is to say sensitive to the economic situation, such as Walt Disney (+1.95%) or Nike (+2.31%).
A rare phenomenon, the Russell 2000 index, which brings together the smallest capitalizations in the New York market, did better (+1.72%) than the three stars of the rating, Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500.
The film and television group Paramount Global surged (+13.05%) after the Wall Street Journal reported a $26 billion takeover offer made jointly by asset manager Apollo Global Management and Sony.
When asked, Sony declined to comment.
The semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm had the wind in its sails (+9.74%), after the publication of results and forecasts beyond expectations. The San Diego company was notably supported by sales to the automotive sector.
The electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian hit the ground running (+6.73%), after revealing that the state of Illinois was going to release an envelope of $827 million to allow the group to expand its Normal factory.
The Moderna laboratory performed well (+12.68%) despite a turnover lower than 90% over one year. Investors saw the net loss as lower than expected, in particular thanks to the control of fixed costs.
The Cambridge (Massachusetts) group is awaiting the green light from the American Medicines Agency (FDA) for its vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which should allow it to boost its revenues, which were sharply contracted after the outbreak of the pandemic. of coronavirus and mass vaccinations.
The vehicle rental company Avis rode (+20.07%) on a higher turnover than the market saw. The loss was also higher than anticipated, notably due to significant depreciation linked to the reduction of its fleet.
The meal delivery platform DoorDash (-10.32%) may have posted growth above projections and a significantly reduced loss compared to the same period last year, but Wall Street kept its forecasts for the current quarter, considered disappointing.