The Dow Jones Industrial was up 0.85% at the close. and amounted to 38,226.66 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.91% at the end of the day. and amounted to 5,064.20 points. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.51%. and closed the session at 15,840.96 points. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap companies is up 1.57%. and amounts to 2,011.60 points. The VIX volatility index falls by 4.87%, to 14.64 points. Yields on 2-year US treasury bonds fell to 4.577%.
The Fed meeting was less hawkish than feared
“We see markets breathing a sigh of relief after the Fed meeting was less hawkish than feared,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior strategist at Edward Jones. “The baseline scenario is still that rate cuts are delayed, but not necessarily derailed,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Fed left interest rates unchanged. in the USA unchanged at 5.25-5.50 percent. The Fed announced that interest rate cuts in the US will occur only when there is certainty that inflation is heading towards the target. After the Federal Reserve meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell ruled out the possibility that the Fed's next decision could be an increase in interest rates.
Analysts point to the message regarding the lack of progress in the fight against inflation in recent months, as well as confirmation of the lack of plans to increase interest rates. “The Fed's official statement confirmed the lack of further progress in curbing inflation in recent months. However, Powell has expressed strong confidence that current monetary policy is tight enough to ultimately return inflation to the Fed's 2% target, so it is unlikely that the next policy move will be an increase,” said Preston Caldwell, chief U.S. economist at Morningstar.
There will be a delay in the date of the first interest rate cut
“The latest official statement confirms the view that there will be a delay in the date of the first interest rate cut, but it also confirms that there will be no return to tightening monetary policy. Our scenario assumes overall interest rate cuts. by 75 bp. this year,” OCBC strategists wrote in the report.
Chipmaker Qualcomm gained over 10 percent during Thursday's session. following better-than-expected quarterly results and a strong revenue forecast. DoorDash fell 10%. after a larger than expected loss per share. Used car retailer Carvana rose 33%. after publishing the highest-ever net profit. Following the falling yields of treasury bonds, shares of technology companies rose in price. Nvidia and Amazon gained 3% each, Apple rose 2%.
Macroeconomic data
Investors received a large portion of the latest data from the American economy on Thursday, but their attention is focused on Friday's release of labor market data. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time last week in the US was 208,000. Economists expected the number of new unemployed to be 211,000. against 208 thousand previously, after correction from 207 thousand The number of unemployed people continuing to receive benefits amounted to 1.774 million in the week that ended on April 20. Analysts expected 1.79 million compared to the previously quoted 1.774 million, after correction from 1.781 million.
Orders for durable goods in the US increased by 2.6% in March. mdm vs. preliminary +2.6 percent and an increase of 1.7 percent. a month earlier, after correction from +1.3%. – reported the Department of Commerce in the second count. Orders for durable goods excluding means of transport increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis. vs. +0.1 percent a month earlier, after correction from +0.3%. Here, the initial estimate was +0.2%. mdm. Orders in American industry in March increased by 1.6%. mdm. Analysts estimated that orders would increase by 1.6%. mdm. A month earlier, orders increased by 1.2%. mdm, after correction from +1.4%.
The US trade deficit in March amounted to USD 69.4 billion, compared to USD 69.5 billion deficit a month earlier, after correction from USD 68.9 billion. Analysts expected a deficit of USD 69.7 billion. On the oil market, WTI contracts for May are down by 0.01%. to USD 79.00 per barrel, and June Brent futures are increasing by 0.25%. up to USD 83.65/b.
