2024-01-25 15:43:10
Published on: 01/25/2024 – 4:43 p.m. Modified on: 01/25/2024 – 4:41 p.m.
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Around 3:25 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones gained 0.49%, the Nasdaq index gained 0.59% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.54%. The S&P 500 remains on four records in a row.
Growth reached 3.3% in the fourth quarter at an annual rate, well above the 2% expected by economists, supported by consumption.
But operators above all noted the confirmation of a moderation in inflation, which stood at 2% at an annual rate over the quarter, excluding energy and food.
“It’s the perfect mix of solid consumption and decelerating inflation,” responded Jamie Cox of Harris Financial Group. “That’s exactly what you hope for if you’re the head of the Fed and you’re thinking about cutting rates this year.”
For the analyst, “the path is in sight” for a soft landing of the American economy.
The New York market also paid attention to the surge in new weekly unemployment registrations, the highest in a month.
“This suggests that the labor market is losing momentum, even marginally, which is important because we expect (…) that wages will stabilize,” commented Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.
A sign that this series of data has not changed the central scenario adopted by Wall Street, bond rates have relaxed, despite the unexpected growth figure.
The yield on 2-year US government bonds, the most representative of market expectations in terms of monetary policy, stood at 4.33%, compared to 4.38% the day before at closing.
Operators now attribute almost the same probability to a reduction in the key rate from March as to a status quo, while the latter still largely prevailed on Wednesday (59%).
On the stock market, Tesla was harshly sanctioned (-10.02%) after warning that its growth this year would be “significantly lower” than that of 2023. The manufacturer published, Wednesday after the stock market, results below the expectations, penalized by repeated price drops.
Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company was in a transition phase before the launch, expected in the second half of 2025, of a new consumer vehicle priced lower than the brand’s existing models.
Investors welcomed the results of American Airlines (+8.97%), whose profit, modest ($19 million), was reduced by exceptional items and nevertheless came out above expectations. The company was spared by the 737 MAX 9 saga and was pleased with a low cancellation rate over the past financial year.
The companies Alaska Airlines (+3.69%) and United Airlines (+4.57%), which have the largest fleets of 737 MAX 9s, moved forward after the American civil aviation regulator, the FAA, defined a protocol which should allow the resumption of flights of these aircraft, three weeks after a major in-flight incident.
Boeing, on the other hand, was battered (-5.76%), after the FAA, in the same communication, indicated that it would not authorize an increase in the rate of production of the 737 MAX until further notice.
IBM soared (+10.99%) after publishing results which surpassed analysts’ projections. The group reported strong demand for its Watsonx generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
The cable operator Comcast was sought after (+5.00%) after reporting better than expected results, driven in particular by the film studio Universal, which benefited from several box office successes.
The specialist in chemicals and synthetic materials Dow paraded (+3.56%) thanks to results higher than forecasts and encouraging words for 2024. The group sees “positive signals” in the sectors of construction, automotive and consumer electronics.
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