New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks rose Monday behind a rebound in tech shares as markets largely shrugged off Joe Biden’s surprise departure from the US presidential race.
Nvidia, Broadcom and Texas Instruments were among the chip companies that rose more than two percent in a reversal from recent trends that had seen tech shares sell off.
The tech-rich Nasdaq led US indices, rising 1.6 percent after bourses in Paris and Frankfurt piled on more than one percent.
Biden’s surprise announcement that he will not seek reelection dominated the news cycle, but analysts described the effect on the markets of his exit and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as muted.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said Monday’s gains by chip companies and other technology equities amounted to a “buy the dip trade” after a recent pullback.
O’Hare also characterized the gains by some large tech companies as a “little bit of a defensive-minded trade” given the headlines.
“We’re in a period of heightened political uncertainty. And those stocks are generally looked at as being defensive outlets, given their industry-leading positions, their balance sheet strength, and their generally dependable earnings growth,” O’Hare said.
Stocks had fallen heavily at the end of last week following a crash in global computer systems that hit airports, airlines, train stations, banks, shops and even doctors’ offices.
On Monday, Delta Air Lines slumped 3.5 percent as it continued to be plagued by the IT outage, which was connected to a flawed update to an antivirus program from American cybersecurity group CrowdStrike. Delta canceled more than 820 flights on Monday, according to tracker FlightAware.
Crowdstrike also had a rough day, plummeting 13.5 percent amid worries of a reputational hit to the company.
– Ryanair dives –
Ryanair’s share price slumped 16 percent Monday, which was also the first day of Britain’s Farnborough airshow.
The Irish no-frills carrier warned that despite rising passenger demand for its routes across Europe, revenue would continue to suffer from lower-than-expected airfares.
“While travel demand has bounced back since the pandemic, travelers are reluctant to book too far ahead,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
He cited “high interest rates” and passengers “holding out for a bargain” as likely reasons Ryanair and rival carriers have been forced to lower prices in the peak summer season.
– Key figures around 2030 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 40,415.44 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 5,564.41 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 18,007.57 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,198.78 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 18,407.07 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 7,622.02 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.5 percent at 4,897.44 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 39,599.00 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 17,635.88 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,964.22 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0890 from $1.0882 on Friday
Pound/dollar: FLAT at $1.2929
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.08 yen from 157.48 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.20 pence at 84.17 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $79.78 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $82.40 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
