Last update: 11:21AM EST
Stocks continue to gain momentum as we approach the halfway point of today’s trading session. As of 11:21 pm EST, the S&P 500 (spx) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) increased by 1.4% and 3.1% respectively. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.3%.
Last update: 9:49AM EST
The Nasdaq 100 (NDXmeta platform (Nasdaq: Meta) and an unexpected $40 billion stock buyback announcement.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (spx) rose 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) at 9:49 am EST, was down 0.6% on Thursday.
Initial jobless claims data indicated that jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 3,000 to 183,000 in the week ended January 28—a nine-month low despite continued corporate layoffs. That was better than consensus expectations of 195,000.
Traders are three American tech giants, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), all of which will be reported after the market closes today. Also reporting today are bellwethers in the auto and quick service restaurant sectors: Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) After the Meta rally, investors will be glued to the news to hear what these companies’ management expects for 2023.
Further, investors today will look for more cues from economic data on jobless claims, productivity, labor costs and factory order reporting.
Investors pounced on buying opportunities, pushing stocks higher at the end of the trading day as markets fell immediately after the conclusion of the FOMC meeting yesterday. Markets only absorbed and focused on the Fed’s key phrases which were positive and pushed US indices higher, according to experts. Although Powell has hinted at easing inflation somewhat, the FOMC has pushed for “ongoing increases in the target range” to keep inflation at 2%.
Notably, European markets opened higher today as investors await interest rate hike decisions by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE) to be announced today.
Asia-Pacific markets remain volatile
Asia-Pacific markets witnessed a volatile day, with most indices ending the day in the green, following a rally in US markets. Importantly, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) this morning raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.00%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down 0.52% after starting the day on a higher note. Meanwhile, mainland China’s Shanghai Composite ended modestly at 0.02% and the Shenzhen component rose 0.08%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.20%, while the Topix fell 0.36% on the day.
On its Indian counterpart, India’s Nifty 50 index fell sharply in morning trade after the Hindenburg report led to a plunge in Adani Group stocks. In addition, the company withdrew its follow-on public offering of $2.5 billion. The index ended the day flat down 0.03%.
Interested in more economic insights? Tune in to our live webinar.
disclosure
