Wall Street chains its third week of gains
New York,USA, Nov 17 (EFE). – Wall Street chained its third week of gains, encouraged by the cooling of inflation, which is approaching the Federal Reserve’s target and has generated expectations that the cycle of interest rate increases will soon end.
The indicator that rose the most was the Nasdaq, a cumulative 2.4%, mainly thanks to the technology sector, which seems to be recovering and is consolidating a good streak comparable to the one immediately after the start of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to analysts.
The S&P 500 rose 2.2% and the Dow Jones 1.9%.
US inflation fell five-tenths to a better-than-expected annualized rate of 3.2% in October, and there were other positive data such as the largest drop in the producer price index since April 2020, largely due to cheaper gasoline.
The quarterly earnings season is coming to a close and 80% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported have beaten forecasts, although inflation was frequently mentioned as a negative factor.
While the data was somewhat different than expected, the underlying details continue to paint an economic picture that is gradually losing momentum, Wells Fargo analysts said in a note published Friday.
The data suggest that the central bank is achieving its long-awaited “soft landing” of the economy after last summer’s inflation spikes, and some experts suggest that it could start cutting interest rates as early as March 2024.
Yields on 10-year US Treasuries, which were above 5% a few weeks ago, fell to 4.4% on Friday, a sign of optimism that was also reflected in stock buying.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil loses 2% in the weekly calculation and has already accumulated a month of declines as doubts about the strength of demand in the face of the large oil production of non-OPEC countries increase.
November is a fertile month in the stock market, but little movement is expected this coming week, since the markets will be closed on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, and will operate at half throttle the following day, also a holiday, which is the consumer day of Black Friday. EFE
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