NEW YORK (awp international) – The US stock exchanges were able to start the new week with profits after the mixed weekly close. Forty-five minutes before the start of the stock market on Monday, broker IG rated the leading index Dow Jones Industrial 0.5 percent higher at 32,954 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is likely to gain a little more.
After the surprisingly strong US labor market report on Friday, at least the Dow defied the fear of interest rates rising too quickly among the most important indices. On Wednesday, the debate about the future course of the US Federal Reserve to combat high inflation should pick up speed again. Then the consumer price data for July will be released. In June, inflation in the US rose to 9.1 percent, the highest level in over 40 years.
According to statements by members of the US Federal Reserve, a further significant rise in interest rates is to be expected in the USA. The Fed is “far from done with the task of bringing down inflation,” said San Francisco Regional Federal Reserve Chair Mary Daly. According to Fed member Michelle Bowman, the central bank should react to the high inflation in the USA with “a similarly large” interest rate hike at the upcoming meeting. The Fed last raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points at the end of July in order to curb inflation.
Higher interest rates make equities look worse than other forms of investment, such as bonds, and make borrowing more expensive, which can slow economic growth. For now, however, investors are confident that the Fed can keep inflation in check without plunging the US into a deep recession.
Among the individual values, the papers from Pfizer are in focus. As speculated last week, the pharmaceutical company wants to strengthen its rare hematology business with the billion-dollar acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT). GBT shares are now up nearly 5 percent in US premarket trading after surging on Thursday and Friday. Pfizer’s stock barely moved.
Avalara’s shares lost almost five percent pre-market. The investment company Vista Equity, which specializes in business software, wants to take over the company, but the offer of USD 93.50 per share apparently did not convince investors. In addition, the sales generated in the second quarter were disappointing.
Investors are downright shocked by Palantir’s outlook. The papers of the data analysis company fell by around 14 percent before the market. At the pharmaceutical company Biontech, business in the second quarter was worse than expected, the shares lost almost eight percent./la/jha
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