Sherif Adel (Washington)
Most US stocks surpassed the news from China, which indicated that the authorities closed many cities after the epidemic re-spread there, to end the main indices on the rise, despite the decline in the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices in its last trading days.
In a short week that saw markets closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and then only a half-day on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose in its final day by 0.45%, ending the week 1.78% higher than it began. During the same week, the S&P 500 index rose by 1.53%, while the Nasdaq index recorded weekly gains of 0.72%.
US stocks benefited this week from the publication of the minutes of the Fed’s meeting, which was held three weeks ago, and showed the tendency of most members of its board of directors to ease the pace of raising interest on the bank’s funds during the coming weeks.
In a related way, the National Health Committee in China stated yesterday, Friday, that the country recorded 32,943 new infections with the Corona virus on Thursday, so that the country had witnessed more than thirty thousand cases, as a result of the epidemic, for the third day in a row, which did not happen in the darkest moments. The spread of the virus, the year before last.
Cities close
The authorities there were forced to extend the closure periods of many cities in which the epidemic spread, which analysts expected would have an impact on the major American technology companies that manufacture their products in China, in a way that may lead to an acceleration of the world’s economies entering into a recession, which many are waiting for during the first half of the year. Next year.
And on Friday, Archyde.com news agency said that Apple’s stock, which alone accounts for more than 7% of the value of the S&P 500 index, fell by 2%, during Friday’s trading, after news of a decline in iPhone shipments from a Foxconn factory in China in November, as production was affected by Covid-related labor unrest.
retail companies
A slew of strong retail earnings reports that showed continued strength in US consumer spending, despite growing fears of weakness creeping into the world’s largest economy, also helped. Next week, the eyes of investors are looking forward to more earnings reports from some other retail companies, such as Kroger and Ulta Beauty, while everyone is waiting for new statements from members of the Federal Reserve Board of Directors, through which it is possible to know the directions of the largest central bank in the world during the coming period. .
In addition, next Thursday, the personal consumption expenditures report, one of the Fed’s most important inflation indicators, will be released, and on Friday, the jobs report for November.