Wall Street Close: Stocks print five-day uptrend with eyes on Jackson Hole Symposium
- US equities remain firmer, S&P 500 and Nasdaq refresh record top.
- Google, Tesla, FB propel Nasdaq, financial stocks underpin S&P 500.
- Strong drive for jabbing, stimulus news and fewer challenges for easy money favor bulls.
- US Core PCE, second reading of Q2 GDP can entertain traders ahead of Powell’s Jackson Hole speech.
US equity benchmarks portray another positive day, the fifth one in the row, by the end of Wednesday’s North American trading session. While all three key indices were up for the day, S&P 500 and Nasdaq refresh all-time high whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) marked the least upside.
That said, DJI rose 0.11% intraday or 39.24 points to 35,405. On the other hand, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.22% and 0.11% daily, in that order, to end Wednesday’s trading around 4,496 and 15,041.
With the brighter mood in the market, the US dollar’s safe-haven demand waned and dragged the US Dollar Index (DXY), down 0.07% to the one-week low of 92.80, despite the US 10-year Treasury yields’ strongest rise in three weeks to 1.35%, up by six basis points (bps) on a day.
Downbeat US Durable Goods Orders for July and US Health Official Anthony Fauci’s expectations of getting the COVID-19 conditions under control by early 2022, backed by strong jabbing, favored the firmer risk appetite. Also on the positive side was news that representatives of Wall Street and China will meet to soften the terms of equity trading. It should be noted that Tuesday’s passage of the $3.5 trillion budget plan also had its contribution to the bullish moves.
Company-specific news signals an over 17% slump in the Nordstorm Inc. shares after revenues dropped over 6.0% from the pre-pandemic levels. Alternatively, Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. jumped over 13% on a day as the firm announced a special dividend and raised its annual sales and profit forecast. Furthermore, share traders of Western Digital cheered news of merger talks with Japanese flash memory supplier Kioxia Holdings while Albemarle and Okta benefited from upgraded ratings.
Given the scheduled release of the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data and second reading of the US Q2 GDP, traders will keep their eyes on the economic calendar for fresh impulse. However, a cautious sentiment may restrict the market’s moves ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, up for publishing on Friday.
Author
Anil Panchal
FXStreet
Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.
