Stocks are Mixed after Wall Street Ended a Winning Streak

Highlights: 

• USA
  Wall Street ended on mixed ground, as Dow Jones and Selective S&P 500 registered losses and Nasdaq reached a new record.
• ASIA
  The Nikkei ended flat after a positive trading session;
  Hang Seng advanced by 0.23% contrasted with a flat close of the Shanghai Composite index;
  The South Korean Stock exchange also set a new high boosted by tech gains;
  Indian Sensex and Nifty made significant gains;
• EUROPE
  European benchmarks started the session with gains after strong fluctuations they experienced this week. Investors await the BoE decision.

Wall Street ended Wednesday in the mixed ground. The Dow Jones and Selective S&P 500 posted losses. However, the Nasdaq composite index reached its second consecutive record. 

At the close of the NYSE session, the Dow Jones dropped by 0.21% or 71.34 points, to 33,874.24. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 lost 0.11% or 4.60 points, to 4,241,84.

The Nasdaq, listing the main technology companies, advanced by 0.13% or 18.47 points, to 14,271.73. 

The New York Stock traded in a limited range during the session. It was generally positive, but still, it lost momentum at the last minute. Investors betted on caution after receiving new data on the economy. The Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for June came in at 62.6, exceeding economists’ projections of 61.5.

 

The market looks settled

The Federal Reserve has managed to carry the economy through the coronavirus pandemic by super-low rates. The central bank’s economic policy has made investing simple. They sustained prices across markets, and any change would make a big deal. For this reason, shares immediately dropped after the Fed’s report last week.

Analysts believe that the market has settled now, and investors seem to make peace with last week’s shock they received by the Fed’s statement. 

Analysts expect markets to be more sensitive to economic data since they have embraced the idea that the money cycle is changing. There is a possibility for stocks to trade flat from now on, and their move will depend on the hearing from the Fed and other central banks. 

Among the thirty Dow Jones stocks, 3M was the most affected. It plunged by 1.42%. IMB followed it, losing 1.20%. Meanwhile, intel lost 1.09%. As for the gains, Walt Disney posted the most significant increase adding 1,05%. Goldman Sachs increased by 0.98%.

Japan closed flat after starting the day positively

Japan shares closed with gains on Thursday. Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus, and Real Estate sectors posted significant increases. However, values flattened at the end of the session, and Nikkei 225 ended with a 0% change. 

The Tokyo stock market started a day on the rise, supported by a weak yen that favors exports. However, because investors were concerned about a rebound in coronavirus infections, they limited gains.

The index showed a moderately positive trend with an identifiable resistance area at 29,222.3 and estimated support at 28,269.2.

The companies that posted the most significant gains in the session were Inpex Corp, which advanced by 2.73% or 23.0 points to 865.0. Chiyoda Corp. increased by 2.71% or 12.0 points to 454.0. Meanwhile, Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. climbed by 2.65% or 80.0 points to 3095.0. 

As for those who lost, the air and land transport sector reaped the most significant losses. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. yielded 3.15% or 26.0 to 800.0. Japan Railway dropped by 2.74% or 179.0 points to 6353.0. At the same time, ANA Holdings Inc plunged by 2.67% or 74.0 points to 2692.5. 

In the first section, 1,107 shares saw gains while 943 values decreased; 140 shares ended unchanged.

The trading volume amounted to 1.94 trillion yen.

China’s SSE ends flat while Hang Seng gains 0.23%

The stock market in China settled slightly higher. Consumer and new energy companies were the biggest gainers of the day. At the same time, worries of a slip in drug prices hit healthcare companies’ values. Among the 251 products, the average price reduction was 56%. Hengrui, Asymchem Laboratories Tianjin Co Ltd, and Bloomage Biotechnology Corp Ltd plunged between 4.4% and 5.5%.

The Hang Seng index finished with a gain of 65.39 points or 0.23% at 28,882.46. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose by 0.03% to 10,677.31. Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd registered the most significant rise by 3.35%. At the same time, Techtronic Industries Co Ltd sank by 2%.

Trading was slightly better in Shanghai. However, some sharp swings took it into negative territory. 

China’s PPI is likely to increase in June by 10%. This will generate pressure on downstream consumers. 

Kospi set an all-time high thanks to tech gains

Substantial advances by technology stocks supported the South Korean stock index to touch its all-time high on Thursday. 

Kospi rose by 0.3% or 9.91 points to 3,286.1. Meanwhile, the selective Kosdaq surged by 0.38% or 3.84 points to 1,012.62. 

The Kospi extended gains one more day after defusing concerns about the withdrawal of the stimulus policies of the Fed earlier than expected.

The country’s largest technology companies were encouraged by optimism in the economic recovery. They hiked even though the Bank of South Korea pointed today to an interest rate hike earlier than expected.

Seoul’s market benchmark, tech giant Samsung Electronics, expanded by 1.37%. Meanwhile, the country’s second-largest chipmaker SK Hynix advanced by 1.61%.

LG Electronics rose by 4.13%, and SK Innovation, the electric vehicle battery manufacturer, added 3.35%.

Kakao, the digital services operator, posted a decrease. The company’s shares plunged by 7.37%. Also, Naver, its competitor, lost 0.94%. 

Samsung Biologics, the pharmaceutical company, declined by 0.23%.

Local currency settled with gains against the US greenback, adding 0.25% or 2.8 won per dollar, at 1,134.9 won.

Sensex and Nifty settle higher boosted by IT stocks

Indian stock indices advanced on Thursday, supported by a rise in banking and IT stocks. Still, declines in energy and heavyweight RIL stocks kept the indices from reaching their records. 

BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 0.75% or 392.92 points at 52,699. Meanwhile, NSE Nifty added 0.66% or 03.50 points to settle at 15,790. 

Nifty’s IT index surged by more than 2.5%. At the same time, banking, financial services, and metal sectors advanced by between 0.5 and 1%. Nifty Auto and Nifty FMCG also settled in the green. Meanwhile, Nifty Energy yielded 1%. As for pharma and realty indices, they ended in the red. 

Shyam Metalics & Energy made a debut by climbing by 22.5% or Rs 306 per share to Rs 375. Sona Comstar surged by 24.5%, or Rs 362.85 per share.

European shares boosted on recovery optimism

European stock markets started the day with progress, and in some cases, they even reached a 1% gain. The selective EuroStoxx 50, once again, moved above 4,100 points. 

The STOXX 600 started 0.5% higher ahead of Germany’s Ifo business sentiment survey. The benchmark experienced sharp fluctuations this week. On Wednesday, it almost erased the increases from the previous two days. Despite the Fed’s messages about tapering, the ECB reaffirmed its accommodative stance on monetary policy. Thus, analysts stated they did not expect shares to resume in a downward movement. 

Investors are now awaiting the decision of the Bank of England on interest rates and subsequent monetary policy acts. Analysts believe that the course of BoE could be similar to the one Federal Reserve set.