NEW YORK (awp international) – On Friday, the US stock exchanges were only able to gain something in the standard indices in a changeable but rather unspectacular course. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial rose on the last trading day before the long weekend by 0.32 percent to 30,875.35 points, which is heading for a weekly minus of almost two percent. There will be no stock market trading in New York next Monday due to the US Independence Day.
The market-wide S&P 500 rose 0.20 percent to 3793.07 points on Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 0.17 percent to 11,483.82 points – on a weekly basis, it shows a loss of more than five percent.
The day before, the three stock market barometers had left trading with historically high price discounts for the first half of the year. Many investors around the world have lost interest in shares in view of rising interest rates and concerns about a possible impending recession.
This is unlikely to change much in the coming months, according to John Higgins, chief markets economist at economic research consultancy Capital Economics. After the drought in the first half of the year, he does not expect a positive price development on Wall Street and the US bond market in the second half either, the expert wrote in a recent publication. Because the US Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates more and then leave them at this level longer than currently priced in.
With fears of a recession mounting, the market has also begun to assess the impact on corporate earnings prospects, commented Spi Asset Management expert Stephen Innes. Current data from the world’s largest economy was moderate.
Sentiment in industry fell more sharply than expected in June to a two-year low, as the purchasing manager index of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) shows. The mood indicator, which is used as a gauge for overall economic growth, is still well above the growth threshold of 50 points. Meanwhile, signs of weakness from the US housing market continue: Construction spending in May fell slightly month-on-month, while analysts had expected an increase.
The semiconductor manufacturer Micron is now feeling the effects of weaker demand. The sales forecast for the last business quarter, which was published after the trading day on Thursday, was disappointing, according to stockbrokers. The stock fell nearly 4 percent.
Meanwhile, the Kohl’s department store chain caused a sensation – it announced the end of talks about a takeover by the Franchise Group. Management cited the challenging financing and retail environment after three weeks of exclusive negotiations, saying these are impediments to reaching an acceptable agreement with the potential buyer. Many disappointed investors fled the title, which has already been under massive pressure for weeks – most recently it was down more than 17 percent. The papers of the prospective buyer became cheaper by almost six percent.
Meanwhile, General Motors (GM) shares were up more than half a percent, despite the automaker reporting a sharp fall in sales for the second quarter. The company continues to struggle with supply chain problems and a persistent shortage of computer chips. In addition, the promised quarterly profit fell well short of the consensus estimate./gl/men
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