Wall Street ends mixed while chip stocks rally
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Analysts on average see S&P 500 companies increasing their aggregate earnings per share by 10.1 per cent in the second quarter.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK - Wall Street ended mixed on July 8 as investors awaited fresh inflation data, commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the start of quarterly earnings season.
Nvidia, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other chipmakers rose, lifting the Philadelphia semiconductor index about 2 per cent.
Traders will scrutinise consumer price data due on July 11 and producer price data expected on July 12 to gauge the Fed’s progress in fighting inflation.
Investors worry that waiting too long to cut interest rates could damage the labour market and push the economy into a recession. They will closely monitor Powell’s semiannual testimony before US Senate and House committees on July 9 and July 10.
“What investors want to hear is a dovish tone and an acknowledgement that the two-sided risks are more evenly balanced today, in particular, with respect to the labour market,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird.
Expectations for interest rate cuts as early as September grew after July 5’s nonfarm payrolls report showed US job growth slowed in June - the latest data to point to weakness in labor market conditions.
Traders now see a greater than 75 per cent chance of a rate cut of at least 25 basis points by September, up from last week’s 60 per cent, according to CME’s FedWatch.
Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are slated to kick off Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings season on Friday.
Analysts on average see S&P 500 companies increasing their aggregate earnings per share by 10.1 per cent in the second quarter, up from an 8.2 per cent increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 5.66 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end at 5,572.84 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.58 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 18,403.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.14 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 39,344.73.
Paramount Global fell after it agreed on July 7 to merge with Skydance Media, scripting a new chapter for one of Hollywood’s oldest studios.
Planemaker Boeing gained after agreeing to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of US$243.6 million (S$328.85 million) to resolve a US Justice Department investigation into two fatal 737 MAX crashes. REUTERS
