Stocks surged higher early Thursday and maintained strong momentum into the afternoon. Today’s gains more than offset the previous session’s losses, with the Dow reaching a new record intraday high.The major indices are currently near their peak levels for the day. The Dow has surged by 417.35 points, or 1.0%, to 41,508.77. The Nasdaq has increased by 184.06 points, or 1.1%, to 17,740.09, while the S&P 500 has risen by 45.22 points, or 0.8%, to 5,637.40.Today’s rebound on Wall Street partly reflects positive reactions to recent U.S. economic data, including an unexpected upward revision in second-quarter GDP growth as reported by the Commerce Department.The Commerce Department announced that second-quarter GDP growth has been revised upward to 3.0%, from the previously estimated 2.8%. Economists had anticipated no change from the initial estimate.This upward revision indicates an even faster acceleration compared to the 1.4% GDP growth in the first quarter. The report also noted slight downward revisions to consumer price growth in the same period.”Downward revisions to inflation, along with higher spending, support the case for a soft landing,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. “The key challenge for the rest of the year will be the job market.”Roach added, “Leading employment indicators suggest a cooling in services employment, but lower mortgage debt servicing costs will continue to support household balance sheets.”Additionally, a Labor Department report revealed a slight decrease in first-time U.S. unemployment claims for the week ending August 24th.Initial jobless claims dropped to 231,000, down by 2,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 233,000. Economists had anticipated no change from the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.Despite today’s market strength, Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell by 3.6%, even though the company reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and optimistic third-quarter revenue forecasts.”It appears that investors might have set a higher bar based on the top range of analysts’ estimates for Nvidia’s performance,” said Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell. “The top end was $0.71 earnings per share compared to the $0.68 earnings per share which the company achieved.””Another point of concern for investors was the pace of earnings growth,” Coatsworth added. “Although Nvidia’s earnings continue to grow each quarter, the growth rate is slowing, raising alarms that the AI sector may be losing some of its momentum.”Sector PerformanceSoftware stocks are leading the charge, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 2.0%. Gold stocks also show significant strength, as evidenced by a 1.8% jump in the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. This rally is fueled by rising gold prices, with December gold futures increasing by $21.60 to $2,559.40 an ounce.Additionally, crude oil price increases have bolstered oil service stocks, pushing the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.5%. Notable gains are also seen in steel, semiconductor, and networking stocks, while telecom and computer hardware stocks have declined.Global MarketsIn overseas trading, Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index hovered just below the flat line, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5%, and South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 1.0%.Conversely, European markets moved upward. The French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8%, the German DAX Index rose by 0.7%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased by 0.4%.In the bond market, U.S. treasuries have exhibited modest weakness following a flat session yesterday. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note has increased by 2.6 basis points to 3.867%.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
- Air Canada And ALPA Reach Tentative Four-Year Agreement - September 15, 2024
- J&J’s TAR-200 Phase 2b SunRISe-1 Study Shows 84% Complete Response In High-Risk Bladder Cancer - September 15, 2024
- Saudi Arabia’s CPI Holds Steady at 0.1% for August, Defying Market Expectations - September 15, 2024
