(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange rose at the open on Thursday after the publication of a salvo of indicators showing the resilience of the U.S. economy, which nevertheless distances the prospect of a major rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed).
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 411.76 points, or 1.03%, to 40,420.15 points, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.96% to 5,507.32 points.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.16% or 201.94 points, to 17,394.545.
Investors welcomed the retail sales figures released on Thursday, which rose 1% in July compared with the 0.3% consensus expectation.
New jobless claims also surprised to the downside, and both indicators suggest that U.S. activity remains robust despite rate hikes.
A weak set of jobs data had triggered a sharp decline in risk assets in early August, but fears of a recession now appear to have subsided.
The Fed will therefore be less eager to lower its rates to support activity in September, and operators mostly believe that the American central bank will be content to ease its key rate by 25 basis points.
This scenario pushes back US sovereign bonds, positioned for a larger drop of 50 basis points.
At the opening, the yield on the ten-year Treasury rose 11.2 bp to 3.9341%, while the yield on the two-year security rose 14.4 bp to 4.0909%.
In stocks, Walmart gained 7.7% after raising its revenue and profit forecasts for the second time this year on Thursday.
(Written by Corentin Chappron in Paris, edited by Jean Terzian)
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