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U.S. stock futures were trading at mixed levels hours before the opening bell on Thursday, the day after the Dow ended in record territory crossing the 33,000 plateau for the first time and following comments by the Federal Reserve chairman of the United States. USA, Jerome Powell, saying that the basic interest rate would be kept close to zero until 2023.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 33015.37 | +189.42 | + 0.58% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3974.12 | +11.41 | + 0.29% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 13525.202471 | +53.64 | + 0.40% |
Powell’s comments at a news conference seemed to reassure investors that they fear that higher inflation could lead central banks to raise rates, which would affect economic growth.
“The market reaction suggests that investors are satisfied with the Fed’s explanations for now,” said Tai Hui of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report. “Inflation is expected to increase in the coming months, and the Fed may need to provide more control to the market during this price spike.”
US WORK GROWTH IS PROBABLY INCREASED IN FEBRUARY IN THE RECOVERY OF SLUMP
Central banks have traditionally responded to high pressure for prices to rise by raising interest rates. But Fed officials said they would let the US economy “heat up” to ensure that the recovery gains momentum.
Prior to his comments on Wednesday, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds, or the difference between their market price and payment on maturity, increased to 1.68%, the highest level since January 2020 .
Yields fell and shares gained after Powell spoke.
U.S. stock futures were trading high hours before the opening bell on Thursday, the day after the Dow ended in record territory crossing the 33,000 plateau for the first time and following comments by the President of the U.S. Federal Reserve. , Jerome Powell, saying
The S&P 500 rose to 3,974.12, recovering from a fall of 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 33,015.37. The Nasdaq rose 0.4% to 13,525.20.
Banks, industrial stocks and companies that depend on consumer spending have helped lift the market. These gains offset a contraction in health, public services and other sectors.
Investors are betting high that the economic malaise will dissipate as spring arrives and more Americans are vaccinated against the coronavirus. The $ 1,400 stimulus checks that the Biden administration started sending to individuals last weekend are also helping. But faster economic activity can also translate to some degree of inflation.
Fed policymakers expect unemployment to drop from 6.2% to 4.5% at the end of the year and to 3.9% at the end of 2022.
This suggests that the central bank will be close to meeting its targets by 2023, when it expects inflation to exceed the 2% target and unemployment to remain at 3.5%. Even so, it still does not project a rate increase.
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Meanwhile, Asian stock markets followed up on Wall Street on Thursday.
The benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong have advanced. Sydney stepped back.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,465.85 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.9% to 30,192.11. Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.5% to 29,474.61.
The Kospi in Seoul advanced by 0.7% to 3,068.01, while the S & P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell by 0.7% at 6,745.90.
India’s Sensex rose 0.5% to 50,043.87. New Zealand also fell as markets in Southeast Asia advanced.
Investors are concerned that inflation will accelerate after governments flooded declining economies with extra spending and credit to reverse the worst global recession since the 1930s.
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In the energy markets, US reference oil lost 36 cents to $ 64.24 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents on Wednesday to $ 64.60. Brent oil, the basis for international prices, dropped 41 cents to $ 67.59 a barrel in London. It dropped 39 cents in the previous session to $ 68.
The dollar rose to 108.90 yen from Wednesday’s 108.86 yen. The euro fell to $ 1.1967 from $ 1.1979.