NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks finished solidly higher on Thursday (June 8), reflecting better sentiment on the US economy and a consensus view that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will not increase interest rates next week.
Analysts see strength in industrial shares as evidence of a broadening stock market rally as futures markets bet on a Fed interest rate pause next week and some analysts see a smaller chance of a US recession in 2023.
“We’re seeing a broadening of the rally,” said Art Hogan, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, who also sees rising investor confidence that the Fed will not hike rates after its subsequent 2023 meetings.
The CBOE Volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped to a fresh post-pandemic record low.
“What you are really seeing in the vol market is an unwillingness to engage,” said David Bianco, Americas chief investment officer for asset manager DWS Group. “You’ve just got paralysis in investors.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 168.59 points, or 0.5%, to 33,833.61, the S&P 500 gained 26.41 points, or 0.62%, to 4,293.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 133.63 points, or 1.02%, to 13,238.52.
Companies that saw major gains in the Dow included Boeing, Merck and UnitedHealth.
Among individual firms, GameStop shares slumped almost 18% after it reported a quarterly loss of US$50.5 million and announced it terminated Matthew Furlong as chief executive. The company tapped general counsel Mark Robinson as general manager.
Heavyweight Amazon.com Inc gained 2.49% as Wells Fargo initiated coverage on the company with an “overweight” rating, while Nvidia Corp, Apple Inc and Tesla Inc rose between 1.55% and 4.58%. – AFP, Reuters
