US close: Markets finish higher on second day of Yellen
Wall Street finished in the green on Thursday, underpinned by a dovish congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen a day earlier.
Nasdaq 100
18,546.23
12:15 17/05/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% higher at 21,553.09, while the S&P 500 added 0.19% to 2,447.83 and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.25% firmer at 5,793.36.
Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen was delivering her second day of testimony before a Congressional panel during the day, with analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch issuing some rather critical comment.
“The secular backdrop of excess debt, aging demographics, technological disruption continues to cap inflation and interest rates.
“Long-term GDP forecasts continue to fall and Wall St continues to enjoy a deflationary boom.
"The Icarus trade will exacerbate inequality, ultimately forcing the Fed and other central banks to pop the bubble later this year.”
The widely-followed Dow Jones Transport Average notched up a fresh record high on an intraday basis, mimicking the price action on the Dow Industrials the day before.
Simultaneous highs on both the Industrials and Transport averages has historically been a positive signal for US equity markets.
On Wednesday, the Dow Industrials had closed at a record high after Yellen indicated that the Fed won't be rushing to tighten monetary policy.
The main economic data point on Thursday was producer price data for June, with factory gate inflation rising 0.1% on the month while gaining 2.0% year-on-year - ahead of a consensus: forecast for a 1.8% rise.
Those figures prompted analysts at Barclays Research to tell clients they expected inflation pressures to remain “solid”.
“Labor markets continue to tighten and the dollar and commodity prices are broadly stable, although the softness in recent months presents some downside risks to our view.
"We view today’s PPI report as broadly consistent with our call, especially given the solid rise in the less erratic PPI personal consumption measure that excludes food, energy and trade."
On the corporate front, graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corporation was pushing past its record close on Wednesday following an upgrade from SunTrust earlier in the session, though it fell sharply during the afternoon and ended down 1.16%.
Discount ‘cheap chic’ retailer Target was in the headlines too after it told investors it was now expecting a "modest increase" in fiscal second quarter same-store sales, versus analysts' forecasts calling for a decline.
Its shares were up 4.8% by the close.
Fellow discount retail giant Walmart was boosted by read-across from Target, improving 1.5% and giving the Dow a boost.
Dow Jones - Risers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $75.05 1.50%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $147.77 1.39%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $230.40 1.32%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $71.77 0.87%
General Electric Co. (GE) $26.80 0.79%
American Express Co. (AXP) $85.37 0.65%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $93.10 0.64%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.49 0.62%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $153.28 0.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.27 0.35%
Dow Jones - Fallers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $83.84 -1.23%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $155.04 -0.98%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $185.48 -0.65%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $123.13 -0.52%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.94 -0.48%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $108.49 -0.45%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.70 -0.30%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $131.90 -0.28%
Visa Inc. (V) $95.94 -0.25%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.44 -0.18%
S&P 500 - Risers
Gap Inc. (GPS) $22.79 5.61%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $22.20 5.26%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $18.49 4.94%
Target Corp. (TGT) $53.31 4.80%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $38.93 4.79%
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $79.19 4.78%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $42.90 4.33%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $184.63 4.25%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $14.05 4.23%
Macy's Inc. (M) $22.11 4.10%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.57 -3.77%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $38.32 -3.48%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.40 -3.21%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $116.03 -2.03%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $54.50 -1.77%
AT&T Inc. (T) $36.20 -1.68%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $108.98 -1.54%
Allegion (ALLE) $80.79 -1.46%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $92.80 -1.41%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $83.84 -1.23%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $25.79 4.41%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $25.70 4.26%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $184.63 4.25%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $57.90 2.39%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $32.51 1.85%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $68.57 1.74%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.06 1.66%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $505.05 1.62%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $126.91 1.58%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $30.36 1.47%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.57 -3.77%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $38.32 -3.48%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.40 -3.21%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $307.35 -2.26%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $323.41 -1.85%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $257.40 -1.70%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $108.98 -1.54%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $92.80 -1.41%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $160.63 -1.16%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $111.74 -1.09%