(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended Friday on a positive note its best month of the year, comforted by results exceeding pessimistic expectations and by the idea that the Fed will not be too heavy handed to slow down the economy and inflation.
Updated yesterday at 5:38 p.m.
According to final results, the Dow Jones index ended the session up 0.97% at 32,845.13 points, an increase of almost 7% over the month.
The NASDAQ jumped 1.88% to 12,390.69 points, a jump of more than 12% in July.
As for the broader S&P 500 index, it advanced by 1.42% on Friday to 4130.29 points and by more than 9% over the month, its best monthly performance since November 2020.
“This progress comes thanks to the positive results of certain large groups, including Apple and Amazon”, summed up the Schwab analysts. “However, both Intel and Procter and Gamble disappointed expectations and issued frustrating forecasts that limited Dow Jones gains,” they added.
Publications of tech megacaps, Amazon and Apple, had indeed reassured Thursday after the close, with sales better than expected even if their net results were less brilliant.
Amazon saw its stock soar 10.36% to $134.95 as revenue rose 7% in the second quarter even as the online retail giant posted a related $2 billion loss to exceptional items.
Also NASDAQ heavyweight Apple (+3.28%) saw robust demand for its iPhones, but its profit fell in the second quarter.
In contrast, Dow Jones member Intel plunged 8.56% after falling into the red in the second quarter and lowering its 2022 revenue forecast, citing a slowdown in global activity.
Streaming access company Roku slumped (-23.07%) as management admitted it had not expected “the severity of the contraction in the advertising market”.
Finally, consumer goods group Procter & Gamble (P&G) fell 6.11% after reporting disappointing annual financial targets.
P&G, which makes Gillette razors and Pampers diapers, among others, cited the negative impact of currency exchange rates, higher commodity prices and rising transportation costs as factors weighing on its growth.
The Toronto Stock Exchange gained more than 200 points and also closed with a gain.
The Toronto floor’s S&P/TSX Composite Index gained Friday 236.21 points to 19,692.92 points.
Ten of the 11 sectors on the Toronto Stock Exchange advanced on Friday, with energy, industrials and materials rising 2.9%, 1.7% and 2.4% respectively. The Consumer Staples sector was the only sector to decline, down 0.74%.
Over the whole month of July, the S&P/TSX accumulated a rise of 4.41%, while the S&P 500 jumped more than 9%.
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 77.98 US cents, up from 77.91 US cents the previous day.
Profits from hydrocarbons
The American hydrocarbon giants ExxonMobil and Chevron have generated huge profits in the wake of rising oil prices this year.
In the second quarter alone, ExxonMobil earned $17.9 billion and Chevron, $11.6 billion. On Wall Street, the title Exxon gained 4.74% and that of Chevron +8.90%.
On the macro-economic front, after the surprise of an American GDP down 0.9% in the second quarter published on Thursday, the Fed’s favorite inflation index confirmed for the month of June a marked acceleration in the price rise, which may have peaked.
The PCE index, based on consumer spending and the Central Bank’s preferred barometer for measuring inflation, climbed 6.8% from June 2021 and 1% from May, led by energy and food.
Edward Yardeni of analyst firm Yardeni Research said: “Investors appear to be betting on a mild recession and moderating inflation that could end the US central bank’s (Fed) monetary policy tightening cycle sooner. provided that “.
The Fed had raised its key rates by 75 basis points on Thursday as expected and hinted that, if it intended to operate other turns of the screw, it was also ready to slow them down if necessary.
Restoring the hearts of investors, US consumer confidence improved a little in July while remaining very close to the all-time low reached in June.
10-year bond yields fell a little to 2.64%, their lowest in four months.
With The Canadian Press