US stocks rise for fourth straight day
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.
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NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday, lifting the S&P 500 to a fresh 15-month peak on the back of benign inflation data and good corporate earnings.
Wholesale prices, measured through the producer price index, ticked up by 0.1 per cent in June, slightly less than expected.
The data comes on the heels of Wednesday’s consumer price report that also lagged expectations, showing progress in the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to counter inflation.
The Fed is still expected to hike rates later in July, but when the consumer inflation report hit, “the second rate hike after July just got washed out of the market”, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
Treasury bond yields – a proxy for Fed interest rates – retreated on Thursday.
The broad-based S&P 500 ended at 4,510.04, up 0.9 per cent and logging its highest close since April 5, 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 per cent at 34,395.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.6 per cent to 14,138.57.
Earnings season picks up significantly on Friday, with releases from JPMorgan Chase and two other giant US banks.
Mr O’Hare said the market could be challenged to keep rising, even if the results outperform lacklustre expectations.
“Probably a lot of good news is priced in already, so you the run the risk of a sell-the-news reaction,” he said.
Among individual companies, PepsiCo shares climbed 2.4 per cent as it raised its full-year forecast and reported that profits jumped by more than 90 per cent to US$2.7 billion (S$3.5 billion).
Delta Air Lines slipped 0.5 per cent despite reporting record results in the second quarter, as it pointed to continued strength in travel demand.
Disney shares edged up 0.4 per cent as it announced that Mr Bob Iger would extend his run as chief executive through the end of 2026. The extension comes amid intensifying pressures in the video streaming business.
Denbury fell 1.3 per cent after it agreed to be acquired by ExxonMobil for US$4.9 billion, in a bid to boost the oil giant’s low-carbon business. AFP
