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Dow rises greater than 100 factors as shares head for a profitable week

Traders and finance professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

US stocks rose on Friday as major averages tried to post their fourth straight day of earnings and ease worries about economic growth earlier in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 145 points, or 0.4%, for a fourth straight day. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%. The S&P 500 was on course for a record close above the July 12th closing high.

The 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.285% on Friday, easing economic concerns raised by the bond market on Monday. The 10-year yield fell to a 5-month low of 1.13% earlier this week.

“We expect the markets to remain choppy, but there is no basic justification for more aggressive sales,” wrote the Barclays strategists in a customer announcement. “In fact, the strong recovery since Tuesday shows that the animal spirits are intact.”

Strong gains from technology stocks kept investors optimistic amid reports from the biggest names in the industry over the next week. Twitter and Snap both rose Thursday after better-than-expected earnings reports for the second quarter. Twitter traded more than 1% higher while Snap shot up 22%.

Facebook gained about 3% over the results of its social media competitors. Alphabet added about 1.5%. Both will report next week together with Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.

All three US stock averages are on track to close the week in the green after recovering from last week’s losses and sharp sell-off on Monday. The Dow lost more than 700 points at the start of the week as yields fell, unsettling equity investors about the economy.

The S&P 500 is up more than 1% this week and the Nasdaq Composite is up about 2%. Both are also within 1% of their intraday records. The Dow is up 0.8% for the week.

The strength of tech stocks also comes along with the continued proliferation of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid.

“We saw in the depths of the pandemic that tech stocks and their earnings did best at BMO Wealth Management,” said. “Long-term interest rates, which are falling as much as they did, also make these stocks more attractive.”

The equity market as a whole was supported by a strong reporting season. With a quarter of the S&P 500 reporting, Refinitiv expects earnings growth of 76% for the second quarter, the best growth since 2009. And profit margins are holding up amid rising inflation. For the second quarter, the companies have so far reported average profit margins of 12.8%, according to S&P Global, which is above the historical range.

American Express reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Friday morning, giving its stocks a 3.5% gain.

Honeywell also reported strong gains, even though the stock was down 1.5%. Kimberly-Clark shares fell 3% after earnings were reported in line with Wall Street forecasts. The annual forecast was also lowered, citing higher costs and lower volumes.

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Shares rally for a second day, Dow jumps greater than 200 factors to recoup Monday’s losses

US stocks rose higher on Wednesday as stocks continued their recovery from a one-day loss earlier in the week.

Better-than-expected earnings reports from Dow members Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson added to the bullish mood.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 286.01 points, or 0.83%, to 34,798 points. It sits less than 1% from a record. The S&P 500 was up 0.82% to 4,358.65. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.92% to 14,631.95.

The 30-share index rose nearly 550 points on Tuesday after falling 725 points on Monday for its worst session in eight months. The successive rallies have now completely wiped out the losses from the beginning of the week for all three indices.

“Tuesday was an oversold course in the textbook after the collapse on Monday,” Thomas Essaye of Sevens Report Research said in a report on Wednesday. “However, aside from short-term swings, we need to see returns hit rock bottom and economic growth beat estimates (two things we think will happen) for value and cyclicals to regain leadership.”

The bond market, particularly the 10-year government bond yield, is driving the equity markets. On Wednesday, the 10-year yield rose 8 basis points to 1.293% (1 basis point equals 0.01%). The yield fell to a new 5-month low on Monday before stabilizing on Tuesday. The collapse in interest rates unsettled equity investors by signaling a possible slowdown in the economy due to the spread of Covid variants or a possible error by the Federal Reserve.

Even if bonds move up, the trend is still down compared to five months ago when the 10-year price was above 1.7.

“The catalyst for why investors have become familiar with risk assets in the past two days is admittedly difficult to pin down,” said Chris Hussey of Goldman Sachs on Wednesday. “Perhaps investors have just embraced the notion that the response function to a new wave of the virus is unlikely to be the same as the response function deployed in spring 2020.”

Stocks, which would benefit most from a sustained rapid economic reopening, rose on Wednesday after recovering from Monday’s sell-off in the previous session. Carnival’s shares rose more than 9%. Las Vegas Sands was up 3%.

Energy stocks led the ongoing rally as oil continued to rebound after falling below $ 70 a barrel on Monday. The Energy Select SPDR is 3.5% higher that day.

Dow member Coca-Cola gave market sentiment an early boost after it reported quarterly sales surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels and raised its guidance for the full year. Coca-Cola shares gained more than 1%.

Dow member Johnson & Johnson’s stock traded almost unchanged even after the drug maker reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter and also raised its guidance for 2021.

Moderna has joined the S&P 500, giving the stock a 20% gain from when it was announced a week ago. The shares have gained 4.5%.

Verizon’s stocks rose slightly after reporting better-than-expected revenue and subscriber growth and raising their outlook for the full year.

Chipotle’s shares surged more than 11.5% as the Mexican fast food chain reported quarterly sales ahead of pre-pandemic levels as diners returned to their restaurants for dinner.

Netflix reported disappointing subscriber forecasts for the third quarter after the bell on Tuesday. The streaming giant expects 3.5 million net subscribers in the third quarter, nearly 2 million below analyst estimates. The company also reported results that fell short of expectations.

Netflix shares recently lost 3.2%.

According to FactSet, about 85% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported to date have beat estimates.

On Tuesday, reopening stocks rallied sharply from Monday’s sell-off sparked by a Covid-inspired global growth fear. American Airlines was up 4% and Norwegian Cruise Line was up 10%.

Some strategists see the market heading for a volatile phase in which there could be a deeper pullback. Investors juggle inflation concerns as well as new Covid cases that are recovering in the US when the delta variant spreads.

“I think what we’ve seen here are the early warning shots of a correction that we’re likely to see … in late August, September, October,” said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.

However, data shows that spikes in the number of Covid cases don’t typically keep the stock market down for long. In the 14 months since the April average daily cases peak last year, case numbers in the US have risen four times while the S&P 500 remained positive.

Goldman’s Hussey said knowing better about Covid and the vaccines available to mitigate its effects could help build market confidence that U.S. economic activity is unlikely to freeze again with another wave of virus cases.

“We should expect the whiplash behavior of investors to continue”,

Rich Steinberg, chief marketing strategist at The Colony Group, told CNBC that he expects “whiplash behavior from investors to continue.”

“We will follow the rally as investors have been conditioned to buy the dip,” he said. “You’ve also been negatively conditioned to worry about the economy and the virus out of last year’s stressful world. I would describe the environment as fearful, but we’re not seeing high levels of short-termism.”

– with reports from CNBC’s Patti Domm and Michael Bloom

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The Dow is now up practically 600 factors as shares snap again from Monday’s decline

Key averages rebounded on Tuesday as investors stepped in to buy the decline from the worst day on the Dow Jones Industrial in eight months.

The comeback rally picked up steadily during the session as a rebound in government bond yields allayed some concerns that a Covid resurgence would slow economic recovery.

At the last count, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 580 points, or 1.7%, after falling 725 points on Monday. It was the Dow’s biggest jump in more than a month. The S&P 500 was up 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.4%. The small cap benchmark Russell 2000 index rose 2.8%.

Many of the stocks, which were hardest hit on Monday due to concerns about the Delta variant of Covid-19, rebounded on Tuesday. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines gained 3% and 4% respectively. Royal Caribbean was up 3% after falling 4% on Monday.

Bank stocks are also rebounding as investors continue to monitor bond yields under pressure. JPMorgan, Citigroup and Bank of America are all up more than 2%.

Energy and industrials – two of the hardest hit groups on Monday – also shot back. Exxon Mobil and Chevron were both up 1%. General Electric and Honeywell gained more than 3%.

Wall Street suffered a sharp sell-off on Monday as investors feared the fast-spreading delta coronavirus variant could hamper economic recovery. The blue-chip Dow plunged 2.1%, its worst day since October 28th last year. The S&P 500 was down 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite was down about 1.1%.

“We remain constructive on equities and see recent growth and slowdown fears premature and exaggerated,” Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, head of US equity strategy at JPMorgan, wrote in a statement on Tuesday. The strategist raised his price target for the S&P 500 from 4,400 to 4,600 at the end of the year, which corresponds to a gain of 8% compared to the closing price on Monday.

Traders continue to watch the 10-year government bond yield, which appears to be driving movement in the equity markets. It fell to a 5-month low on Monday, adding to concerns about the slowing global economy and helping to push stocks down, and fell briefly to 1.128% early Tuesday. It was above 1.78% in March and its decline amid the recovering economy has puzzled and worried investors.

With the rebound on Tuesday, the S&P 500 is only 2% below its record hit last week. During Monday’s losses, the stock benchmark traded below its 50-day moving average at times. However, the index closed above this important technical level on Monday, an optimistic sign for traders that anticipated Tuesday’s rally.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday’s sell-off drove out some of the speculators who are taking too much risk in stocks this year and it would end soon.

“Once the speculators are blown out … and stocks that have already fallen sharply start rallying, we can find tradable bottom,” said Cramer. “We’re close, but the speculators aren’t completely crushed yet.”

Bitcoin fell below the $ 30,000 mark overnight, triggering sales on cryptocurrencies and another sign that speculation may be coming out of the markets.

In the USA, new Covid cases are recovering, as the delta variant is spreading mainly among the unvaccinated. According to CDC data, there are an average of about 26,000 daily cases in the US for the past seven days, more than double the average from a month ago.

“Many of the cyclical companies are selling out of fears that Covid will stop the recovery,” said Chris Zaccarelli, CIO at Independent Advisor Alliance. “We do not believe this is the case and are ready to let the sell-off take its course and buy the slump believing that the economy will fully recover and return to its previous growth trajectory, which is what most cyclical companies do in the country brings. ” the airline, travel and leisure industries along with it. “

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Asia markets fall after Dow drops in a single day amid Covid resurgence fears

SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific stocks fell in trading Tuesday morning after Wall Street stocks tumbled overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 700 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.63% while the Topix index lost 0.79%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.31%.

Mainland stocks were lower in early trading, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.56% while the Shenzhen component lost 0.18%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was near flattening.

The S & P / ASX 200 in Australia lost 0.37%.

MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan was down 0.19%.

On Tuesday, China left its corporate and household credit benchmark rate unchanged – the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remained constant at 3.85%, while the five-year LPR was also left at 4.65%. According to Reuters, the majority of traders and analysts in a quick poll expected that both the one-year and five-year LPR would not change.

The markets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are closed on Tuesday for public holidays.

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Wall Street decline

Overnight in the States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 725.81 points to 33,962.04 while the S&P 500 lost 1.59% to 4,258.49 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.06% to 14,274.98.

The losses on Wall Street came as concerns grew over the potential impact of a Covid resurgence on the global economic recovery. Several countries in Southeast Asia are struggling with infection resurgence, and Goldman Sachs recently lowered its 2021 growth projections for most of the region.

Currencies and oil

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its competitors, hit 92.849 after a recent rebound from below 92.8.

The Japanese yen was trading at 109.48 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110.5 against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7339, up from $ 0.738 yesterday.

Oil prices were higher on the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude oil futures rising 0.52% to $ 68.98 a barrel. US crude oil futures rose 0.74% to $ 66.91 a barrel.

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Dow jumps above 35,000 as retail gross sales prime expectations

U.S. stock indexes rose on Friday as the latest retail sales data topped economists’ expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 28 points, or 0.08%, jumping above 35,000. The index closed just short of that level on Monday. The S&P 500 added around 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite ticked roughly 0.2% higher.

Retail and food service sales rose 0.6% in June, while economists surveyed by the Dow Jones had expected a 0.4% decline. Excluding autos, those sales jumped 1.3%, beating economists’ estimate of a 0.4% gain.

The retail sales data came after initial jobless claims numbers released Thursday totaled 360,000 for the week ending July 10, its lowest level since March 14, 2020.

“The unexpected rise in retail sales combined with yesterday’s pandemic-era low of jobless claims are two more strong proof points that we are edging closer to a full economic recovery,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy for E*TRADE Capital Management.

Live Nation’s stock rose after Goldman said the stock can rally nearly 40% as concerts return.

Shares of Carnival and Royal Caribbean each edged higher after Canada announced it would allow cruise ships to resume operations in its waters starting Nov. 1, sooner than planned. Previously, the Canadian government extended its cruise ban until the end of February 2022.

The moves in recovery-related stocks came even amid concerns about ultra-infectious variants of the coronavirus. Los Angeles County announced Thursday it would restore an indoor mask mandate, including for fully-vaccinated people, due to a rapid and sustained increase in Covid-19 cases.

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Investors also digested strong earnings results from the first major week of second-quarter reports. Though some of the nation’s largest companies posted healthy profits and revenues amid the economic recovery, the reaction in the stock market has so far been muted.

Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter earnings report, for example, topped analysts’ expectations Thursday, yet its shares closed just 0.18% higher.

For 18 S&P 500 companies that beat analyst estimates for second-quarter earnings this week, the average earnings-per-share result was 18% higher than expected. But those companies saw their shares fall 0.58% on average after reporting.

The soft moves in reaction to corporate earnings have contributed to a lackluster week for the S&P 500, which dipped 0.2% on the week as of Thursday’s close.

Much of the market’s upward pressure over the last week has come from a handful of mega-cap internet and communications stocks. Apple, Netflix, Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft are all up this week.

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Dow drops greater than 380 factors, S&P 500 is ready to snap 7-day successful streak

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Source: NYSE

Shares fell on Tuesday as Wall Street began the shortened vacation week on concerns that perhaps the best economic recovery from the pandemic was behind us.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 380 points, dragged down by losses at JPMorgan, Chevron and Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite traded the flat line after both averages hit records at the opening. US markets were closed on Monday for Independence Day on July 4th. The S&P 500 has had a seven-day winning streak, the longest since August.

Investors are juggling multiple signs that rapid economic growth may peak from the depths of the pandemic. The ISM Services Index, a key benchmark for the services sector, slowed from a record high in the previous month to 60.1 in June, data released Tuesday showed. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a pressure of 63.5. This follows Friday’s job report, which showed that the unemployment rate rose back to 5.9% from 5.6%, compared to expectations.

Bond yields also fell Monday, with 10-year government bond yields below 1.4%, further evidence that investors are questioning the strength of the US economy.

While business stocks like Caterpillar and JPMorgan fell, tech stocks rose. Amazon, Apple and Microsoft were higher.

Amazon surged nearly 3% and became technology leaders when Andy Jassy officially took over as CEO on Monday. Jeff Bezos is now Executive Chairman of the Board.

Still, after a strong first half performance amid a historic economic reopening, many on Wall Street expect smaller and more troubled gains for the remainder of the year. The S&P 500 is up nearly 16% since the start of the year.

“The US economy is booming, but we know it by now and the asset markets reflect it. Which is no longer so clear what price this growth will come at, “said Michael Wilson, chief strategist for US equities at Morgan Stanley, in a note. “Higher costs mean lower profits, another reason the stock market has narrowed overall … Stock markets will likely pause this summer as things heat up.”

Wall Street’s consensus year-end target for the S&P 500 is 4,276, a loss of nearly 2% from current levels of 500 stocks, according to the CNBC Market Strategist Survey, which rounds up the forecasts of 16 top strategists.

“Everything is perfect and that worries me,” said Sarat Sethi, portfolio manager at DCLA, in CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “We’ve had a 5% correction since October, that’s it. I think we’re in a little bit of euphoria in the short term. We have to be careful and I think you want to be in secular growth.” Companies, don’t just chase the market because I think the market will be very picky about which sectors will do well. “

U.S. shares in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi plummeted as much as 25% after China said new users would not be able to download the app until a cybersecurity clearance was conducted. The announcement surprised the markets as Didi only made his US debut on the NYSE last week.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose to a six-year high after an important meeting between the oil producing group OPEC and its partners on crude oil exploration policy was canceled. The postponement came when the United Arab Emirates rejected a proposal to extend oil production increases for a second day. At some point on Tuesday, WTI crude oil hit as high as $ 76.98, the highest price since November 2014 after pulling back before the opening bell.

Investors await the release of the June Federal Open Markets Committee’s minutes of the June meeting for clues to the central bank’s behind-the-scenes discussions on the abolition of its quantitative easing program.

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Dow rises almost 200 factors as Wall Road heads for profitable first half

U.S. stocks climbed near record highs on Wednesday as the market completed a successful first half and second quarter of 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 190 points, boosted by strong days for Walmart and Boeing, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 lost around 0.1%.

Wednesday is the last day of the second quarter and the last day of the first half of 2021. At the start of the session, the S&P 500 was up 14% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow were both up 12%. For the quarter, the S&P 500 is up 8%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted new record closings on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 is heading for its fifth consecutive positive month, rising 2.1% to 4,291.80 in June. The broad index is also on track for its best first half since 2019.

Investors have shrugged off the high inflation readings and continued to buy stocks in hopes that an economic comeback for the pandemic would continue and that the Federal Reserve would for the most part maintain its loose policies. The top three Dow winners this year are Goldman Sachs, American Express, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, all of which are up more than 30%. Chevron, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase are each up more than 20%. The technology and health sectors of the S&P 500 both closed Tuesday with record highs.

The gains came as nearly 60% of adults in the US received a COVID-19 vaccine, which allows the economy to reopen quickly. Still, new variants of the virus have raised some concerns that other restrictions such as wearing masks would have to be reintroduced as the pace of vaccinations has slowed.

Investors have “a number of reasons to be constructive,” wrote Tom Lee, Managing Partner and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, citing economic dynamism, strong credit markets and possible fiscal stimuli.

Lee raised his S&P 500 target for 2021 from 4,300 to 4,600 in a statement to his customers on Tuesday evening. The new forecast means a 7% gain from here.

Jeff Kilburg, chief investment officer at Sanctuary Wealth, told CNBC that he is optimistic for the second half of the year thanks to the Federal Reserve’s continued commitment to economic recovery.

“We can fight inflation what we want and we can fight over what metric to use for inflation, but I think at the end of the day we really see the Fed’s commitment,” Kilburg said, adding that The amount of investor money on the sidelines should keep minor pullbacks from turning into major corrections.

Some investors and strategists have cited the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 as a risk for the markets in the second half of the year. However, JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic said in a statement to clients on Wednesday that the variant shouldn’t hurt stock markets, citing low death rates in countries with widespread vaccination.

Good first halves for the market usually bode well for the rest of the year. Whenever there was double-digit growth in the first half of the year, the Dow and S&P 500 never ended this year with an annual decline, according to Refinitive data from 1950.

One group that helped the broader market to its latest record high are semiconductors. The VanEck Semiconductor Index has risen 6% since June 18 and more than 3% in the first two days of this week.

“Semis have recovered strongly and in the last two trading days have finally broken the downtrend that has existed since this high in mid-February. New highs and a broken downward trend? It’s been a big week for Semis. ”Bespoke Investment Group said in a statement to clients.

Pending home sales rose to their highest level since 2005 in May. However, mortgage demand fell last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, with high prices and low supply crowding out some potential buyers. The readings came after a spike in home prices, reflected in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, which drove homebuilders stocks up on Tuesday.

The Institute for Supply Management’s Chicago Purchasing Managers Index came in lower than expected in June but was still expanding.

During Tuesday’s regular session, stocks barely changed in light trading, although the S&P 500 hit its fourth straight session and an all-time high.

Stocks are unlikely to see much movement until Friday’s labor market report gives a better idea of ​​the state of the economy. According to a Dow Jones poll, economists expect 683,000 new jobs in June.

On Wednesday, payroll firm ADP reported that private payrolls rose 692,000 in June, exceeding expectations. However, the company’s May figure has been revised downwards.

– CNBC’s Robert Hum contributed to this report.

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Dow rallies 580 factors for finest day since March as market roars again from post-Fed sell-off

US stocks rose Monday as the market recouped some of the heavy losses caused by the Federal Reserve’s change of course.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 586.89 points, or nearly 1.8%, to 33,876.97, marking its best day since March 5th. The blue chip benchmark bounced back from its worst week since October. The S&P 500 gained 1.4% to 4,224.79, within 1% of its record high after Monday’s comeback rally. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, up 0.8% to 14,141.48 as some major tech companies like Amazon, Tesla, Nvidia and Netflix posted losses.

Commodity stocks, which were hit hard last week, led the market comeback on Monday as the S&P 500 energy sector rallied. Devon Energy was up nearly 7% while Occidental Petroleum was up about 5.4%. Games reopenings, including Norwegian Cruise Line and Boeing, both rose more than 3%. Banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, also rallied. The Russell 2000 small cap rose more than 2%.

These sectors, tied to the economic recovery, led the stocks to sell off last week. The S&P 500’s financial and raw materials sectors lost more than 6% for the week, while the energy sector was down more than 5% and the industrial sector was down more than 3%.

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US stocks fell last week as investors digested new Fed economic forecasts and worried rate hikes could come earlier than expected. The central bank raised its inflation expectations last Wednesday and forecast interest rate hikes for 2023.

“The Fed-inspired sell-off seems excessive,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial analyst at City Index. “The Fed’s sudden hawkish shift last week with two rate hikes now expected in 2023 took the market by surprise.”

The President of the St. Louis Fed, Jim Bullard, told CNBC on Friday that it was natural for the central bank to tend a little more “hawkish” and see higher interest rates as early as 2022.

The Dow was down about 3.5% last week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 1.9% and 0.2%, respectively, over the course of the week.

“The Fed’s ‘surprise’ move in tapering the markets down last week is only when a tightening trend is recognized that began months ago,” said Mike Wilson, chief strategist for US equities in a message. “Combined with the highest rate of change in economic and earnings revisions, this makes for a more difficult summer.”

The U.S. market was resilient on Monday amid an overnight decline in the Asian market and a sharp decline in Bitcoin. The Japanese Nikkei 225 fell as much as 4% at one point on Monday, with automakers Nissan and Honda taking the lead. It closed 3.3% lower.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin slipped more than 7% to $ 32,500 as China resumed crackdown on cryptocurrency mining.

The yield curve for government bonds flattened last week, hit the banks and sent a signal of a possible economic slowdown. Yields on shorter-term government bonds such as the 2-year bond rose – reflecting expectations for the Fed rate hike. Longer-term returns like the 10-year note fell – a sign of less optimism about economic growth.

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Dow falls for a second day following Fed coverage replace, loses 210 factors

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second day as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest policy update, in which it moved up its timeline for interest rate hikes and forecast higher inflation.

Materials-related stocks led the losses as the Fed’s move to eventually raise rates, along with a current campaign by China to tamp down the price of metals, took the air out of a surge in commodity prices this year.

Losses in the overall market were tame, however, and the S&P 500 was less than 0.9% below an all-time high. The central bank maintained its asset-buying program, which some investors argued would support equities some more in the short term.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 210 points, or 0.62%, to 33,823.45, weighed down by losses of more than 3% in Dow Inc. and Caterpillar each as most commodity prices took a hit. The S&P 500 fell 0.04% to 4,221.86. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.87% to 14,161.35 as investors huddled in some Big Tech stocks with Tesla up 1.9%, Amazon up nearly 2.2% and Facebook up 1.6%. Shopify and Twilio gained close to 6.1% and 8%, respectively.

The closely-watched Federal Reserve meeting Wednesday spurred a sell-off in equities after the central bank moved up its timeline for rate hikes, seeing two increases in 2023. The central bank also hiked its inflation forecast to 3.4% for the year, a percentage point higher than the Federal Open Market Committee’s forecast in March.

Copper futures were off by nearly 5%, while futures prices for palladium and platinum fell more than 11% and nearly 7%, respectively. U.S. oil prices settled down more than 1% to $71.04.

“Commodities have been a popular investment in the last year as investors have been adding some portfolio protection against inflation. So many investors were probably overexposed going into the Fed meeting and the U.S. dollar’s response is forcing some reconsideration,” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, told CNBC.

Hedge fund legend David Tepper told CNBC’s Scott Wapner that the Fed did a good job on Wednesday and that “the stock market is still fine for now.”

Adding to the bearish sentiment on Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose last week to 412,000, up from the previous week’s 375,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected jobless claims of 360,000.

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Dow ends day flat as financial comeback performs offset losses in tech

Trader on the New York Stock Exchange, June 2, 2021.

Source: NYSE

Cyclical stocks lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its lows on Thursday and closed the session near the downside, while better-than-expected job data supported sentiment.

The blue-chip Dow closed just 23.34 points, or less than 0.1%, at 34,577.04 after losing 265 points from its session low. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 4,192.85 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1% to 13,614.51.

The S&P 500 benchmark is about 1% off its all-time high hit early last month, but it has remained at that level for about two weeks. The S&P 500 is up more than 11% so far this year.

Merck and Dow Inc. were the top two performers in the 30-stock benchmark, both up more than 2%. Consumer staples and utilities were the biggest winners among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, while consumer discretionary and technology weighed on the broader market, falling 1.2% and 0.9% respectively.

General Motors shares rose nearly 6.4% after the company announced it would hit its results for the first half of 2021 “significantly better” than its previous projections.

On the data front, private employment growth accelerated the fastest in nearly a year in May, as companies hired nearly a million workers, according to a report by payroll firm ADP on Thursday.

The total new hire was 978,000 for the month, a huge jump from 654,000 in April and the largest increase since June 2020. Economists polled by Dow Jones had searched for 680,000.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims for the week ending May 29 were 385,000, up from a Dow Jones estimate of 393,000. It was also the first time jobless claims fell below 400,000 since the early days of the pandemic.

“With ADP kicking it out of the park and jobless claims breaking the 400,000 mark – a pandemic low – all eyes will be on the bigger picture of jobs tomorrow,” said Mike Loewengart, a managing director at E-Trade. “With all systems seemingly working on the job front, the economy is showing some very real signs that this is not just a comeback – a mode of expansion could be on the horizon.”

According to economists polled by Dow Jones, the market could be on hold ahead of the job report released on Friday, which is expected to show an additional 671,000 non-agricultural payrolls in May. The economy created 266,000 jobs in April.

Investors continued to watch the wild action in meme stocks, particularly theater chain AMC Entertainment. The stock plunged up to 30% after practically doubling in the previous session, but the stock reduced its losses after the cinema chain said it closed a stock offering a few hours ago that raised $ 587 million. The stock ended the day around 18% lower.

Other meme stocks also came under pressure on Thursday. Bed Bath & Beyond fell more than 27%. The SoFi Social 50 ETF (SFYF), which tracks the 50 most widely used US publicly traded stocks on SoFi’s retail brokerage platform, slumped more than 6%.

In memory of what happened earlier this year, the joint rally of retailers on Reddit sparked a short squeeze on AMC earlier this week. S3 Partners said short sellers betting against the stock lost $ 2.8 billion on Wednesday as stocks rose. So their losses since the beginning of the year amount to more than 5 billion US dollars, according to S3. If it continues to recover, short sellers are forced to buy back the stock to reduce their losses.

GameStop’s meme stock bubble earlier this year weighed a little on the market as investors feared there was too much speculative activity in the stock market. As losses in hedge funds, which bet against the stock increased, worries mounted about a decline in risk appetite on Wall Street that could hit the broader market. AMC’s recent surge so far didn’t seem to raise any similar concerns.