by Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, rebounding the day after the press release from the American Federal Reserve (Fed) which dashed hopes of an imminent rate cut and while awaiting quarterly results of technological giants.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.97% to 38,519.84 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 1.25% to 4,906.19 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.30% to 15,361.64 points.
If the three main Wall Street indices rose, the Nasdaq was the best performer, ahead of the post-closing publication of results from Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms.
Investors continued to “digest” the Fed’s announcements this Thursday, commented Thomas Martin, portfolio manager at GLOBALT, Atlanta.
“It’s still a growth market. Yesterday’s decline was an overreaction, so today there is a rebound,” he added.
Of the 208 S&P-500 companies that have already reported results, 80% have beaten expectations, according to LSEG data. Analysts now expect quarterly turnover to increase by 6.4% year-on-year, compared to a forecast of +4.7% at the start of January.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, but signaled it needed more certainty on inflation before cutting rates .
Its president, Jerome Powell, declared that it was “unlikely” that the American central bank would make a more accommodating shift in its monetary policy from March, as market participants anticipated.
These comments caused a sharp decline on Wall Street.
Economic data released Thursday showed an increase in layoffs and weekly jobless claims in the United States, appearing to confirm less pressure on the labor market – a precondition in the eyes of the Fed to guarantee a lasting decline in inflation .
They are “consistent with a healthy but calming job market and with our opinion on the economic horizon for 2024: growth will continue, but at a slower pace”, declared Bill Northey, director of investments at US Bank Wealth Management in Montana.
Ten of the eleven main sectors of the S&P-500 ended the session in the green.
Merck rose 4.6% after reporting strong quarterly results.
Qualcomm fell 5% as its Android sales in China disappointed.
( Jean Terzian)
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