US stocks climbed as strong economic data lifted sentiment ahead of Powell’s speech

What is driving the market?

US stocks were mostly higher on Thursday after revised readings on the performance of the US and German economies in the second quarter. Fiscal stimulus measures outside of China. However, low trading volume was contributing to the exaggerated intraday swing.

Germany showed a revised reading of second-quarter gross domestic product The economy grew 0.1% in the second quarterThat was better than economists expected. Meanwhile, in the United States, First revision of second quarter GDP The figures show the economy shrank by just 0.6%, better than the 0.9% contraction from the original reading.

see: GDP contracted at a 0.6% annualized pace in the second quarter, but it wasn’t all bad news.

Eric Deaton, president and managing director of Wealth Alliance, said U.S. stocks have good reason to celebrate the latest reading of second-quarter GDP.

“The underlying data is not showing a slowdown, and that’s pretty typical for this market because this market is praying for a soft landing,” Deaton said.

Stocks are also struggling with low trading volume, which has helped exaggerate swings in the market. Just over 8.8 billion shares were traded on various Wall Street exchanges in Wednesday’s session. This was the lowest volume this year and a 26% decline compared to the daily average of 2022, according to Dow Jones data.

Market strategists attributed the low trading volume to seasonal factors, as well as a reluctance among some investors to make bold bets before Powell spoke at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday.

Investors will dissect Powell’s comments for clues about the Fed’s policy direction, an issue that has largely determined the course of markets of late.

But Louis Neviller of Neviller & Associates said on Thursday that markets believe the Fed is succeeding in achieving a ‘soft landing’ for the US economy.

“The market seems more comfortable that higher interest rates won’t derail earnings into a serious recession anytime soon,” Neviller said.

Markets got another taste of the Fed speak on Thursday When Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said He wants to see the Fed raise its benchmark rate target north of 3.4% then let it “sit for a while.”

In other economic news, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a one-month low of 243,000 last week, indicating that layoffs are near record lows.

see: Jobless claims fell to a one-month low of 243,000, with no sign of layoffs

Investors were also debating a decidedly mixed bag of earnings reports from a handful of tech companies released after the closing bell on Wednesday. by sharing sales force
crms

When was down about 7% Snowflake
the snow,

On the other hand, it rose more than 16% after its numbers and forecasts were well received.

Meanwhile, Tesla Inc.
TSLA

Shares traded slightly lower, wiping out their profits from the premarket session, a stock split has been effective at the open. The EV maker’s board approved a 3-for-1 split on August 5.

Stock in focus

• Chinese stocks listed in the US rally are a follow The Wall Street Journal reports US and Chinese regulators are nearing a deal to allow American auditors to travel to Hong Kong to inspect records of Chinese firms listed in New York. share of Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
  Slime

  Raised over 7%. share of iQiyi Inc.
  IQ

  Gain 6.9%, shares JD.com Inc.
  JD

  Bilibili Inc. and and Hua Inc.
  escape

  Each rose more than 8%. Electric vehicle company shares NIO Inc..
  child

  Gained more than 5%.

• share of Peloton Interactive Inc.
  PTON
  The company plunged nearly 20% after posting a big loss For its most recent quarter. A day earlier, the stock rose on news that the company would begin selling its products on Amazon.com.

• Nvidia Corporation NVDA Shares traded higher Despite disappointing earnings Released on Wednesday night. Other semiconductor companies benefited, too Advanced Micro Devices Inc. amdAnd Micron Technology Inc. MUBoth were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 with gains of more than 4%.

• NetApp Inc.,
  NTAP

  Enterprise data, storage and cloud management providers, It was up more than 6% after a strong earnings report.

• Royal Caribbean Group
  LCR

  And Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
  NCLH

  increased by 3.9% and 4.5% respectively.

How are other resources doing?

• Oil futures were lower, as was US crude
  CL

  Down 1% to $94.96 a barrel.

• 10-year Treasury yield
  BX: TMUBMUSD10Y

  2.9 basis points down to 3.083%.

• ICE Dollar Index
  DXY

  Gold fell 0.2% to 108.50, while
  GC00

  Up 0.4% to $1,768 an ounce.

• Bitcoin
  BTCUSD

  Advance 1.8% to $21,746.

• Asian markets got an extra lift from China’s latest stimulus. Hang Seng of Hong Kong
  HK:HSI

  rose 3.6% and the Shanghai Composite
  CN: SHCOMP

  increased by 1%. In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 600
  XX: SXXP

  rose 0.4%.

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