New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished mixed Wednesday after US data gave a reassuring picture on the economy while lofty bond yields weighed on sentiment. The US Commerce Department revised upwards its estimate for Q2 GDP growth in the world’s largest economy by 0.7 percentage points to 2.2 percent, with analysts pointing to the artificial intelligence investment boom as supporting growth. Another economic release showed the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge stood at 3.4 percent year-on-year in August, unchanged from the month before, while private payroll firm ADP showed better than expected job growth in September.
But long-term bond yields remained elevated, adding to investor anxiety. Higher yields “likely reflect stronger economic growth expectations, partly driven by the AI boom, which is fueling record capital spending and should deliver significant productivity gains over time,” said CFRA Research’s Arun Sundaram. “The question investors are asking is whether higher yields will break the equity market.” Both the Dow and S&P 500 retreated, while the tech-rich Nasdaq advanced.
Meanwhile, Europe’s main stock markets closed lower after France, Germany, and Italy revealed that prices in their countries were surging, particularly at the petrol pumps. “This morning’s economic releases from the eurozone have done little to improve the outlook, with a combination of rising inflation and weakening sentiment reinforcing concerns about stagflation,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
London’s FTSE 100 also ended the day lower after an earlier rally following data showed the UK economy grew more than initially estimated in the second quarter. London-listed mining firms had risen thanks to data out of China—a huge consumer of industrial metals—that showed the country’s factory activity grew this month for the first time since June. That news also gave a boost to the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets, which edged up slightly at the close along with Tokyo.
Oil prices advanced Wednesday on the lack of movement on US-Iran negotiations towards resolving the impasse over the Strait of Hormuz.
**Key figures at around 2020 GMT:**
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 50,906.05 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,751.54 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 26,861.06 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,606.00 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,964.51 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 25,199.19 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 66,753.72 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,613.27 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,842.19 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $90.42 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $103.53 per barrel
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.38 yen from 157.29 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1325 from $1.1342
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3257 from $1.3232
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.41 pence from 85.71 pence
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© 2024 AFP
