New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Wednesday with the Dow climbing to a fresh record on hopes a US government shutdown would soon end, while oil prices fell sharply on oversupply worries. The Dow rose 0.7 percent to finish at 48,254.82, its first close above 48,000 as some market watchers pointed to a rotation to industrial names amid worries that artificial intelligence stocks are overvalued. The Nasdaq finished down for the second straight day.
Traders broadly welcomed an expected congressional vote to reopen the government, after the longest shutdown in US history effectively stemmed the flow of official economic data and closed down vital services. The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the budget standoff after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate to pass a short-term funding bill. Around 670,000 furloughed civil servants and a similar number who were kept at their posts with no compensation — including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security staff — will get back pay.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Paris hit a new record and Frankfurt also rose after a mixed day on Asian markets. “The end of the shutdown is positive for financial markets as we should get a clear read on economic data in the next week or so,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. However, she said the prospect of a resumption of government services was fueling demand for “risk assets.”
Oil prices tumbled after the monthly oil market report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries projected a jump in supply in the third quarter. In its November report, the group sees oversupply in this period after forecasting a deficit in its October report. Among individual companies, Advanced Micro Devices surged 9.0 percent after projecting greater than 35 percent revenue in annual compound growth rate amid the surge in AI investment.
Key figures at around 2110 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 48,254.82 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,850.92 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,406.46 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,911.42 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,241.24 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 24,381.46 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 51,063.31 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 26,922.73 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,000.14 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1587 from $1.1582 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3129 from $1.3150
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.80 yen from 154.16 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.25 pence from 88.07 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.2 percent at $58.49 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $62.71 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
