(News Bulletin 247) – The New York Stock Exchange managed to get back in the right direction on Thursday, mainly under the impetus of technology stocks which seem to be playing the role of safe havens in the face of the serious concerns that have appeared on the markets in recent last days.

As midday approaches, the Dow Jones advances 0.4% to 32,012.6 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gains 1.7% to 11,628 points.

Techs benefit from their relative immunity to fears surrounding the health of the global financial system, but also from the decline in bond rates, which makes them more attractive to investors looking for yield.

On the secondary market, Treasuries yields continue to decline, with 10-year paper now returning towards 3.48%, a level close to its lowest level for the year.

The new technology stars that are part of the ‘FAANG’ cohort – namely Facebook (Meta), Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) – are all posting comfortable scores at lunchtime.

Among the other values ​​in sight, the titles Intel (+5.4%) and Qualcomm (+4.3%) are also well oriented thanks to positive comments from analysts at Susquehanna.

Eight of the 11 major sector indices of the S&P 500 are moving into positive territory, led by telecoms, with a gain of more than 2.1%.

The three sector declines were energy (-0.3%), real estate (-0.5%) and consumer staples (-0.7%).

The market is also supported by positive economic indicators, which show that the scenario of a ‘soft landing’ – so dear to investors – continues to hold.

Import prices fell 0.1% in February, the latest indication of the disinflation process currently at work in the United States.

Registrations for unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 20,000 during the week of March 6, to settle at 192,000 against 212,000 the previous week.

Another welcome indicator, building permits and housing starts rebounded strongly in February, reflecting an improvement in the residential construction market.

On the foreign exchange market, the dollar weakened a little, victim of the rise of the euro which was carried by the announcement of a new rate hike of 50 basis points by the European Central Bank (ECB).

The VIX volatility index, often considered the barometer of fear on Wall Street, continues to decline, dropping almost 8% to around 24 points.

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