The key inflation data fell, and the Federal Reserve may be about to end the current round of interest rate hikes. US stocks rose on the last trading day of the first quarter, and technology stocks surged. The four major indexes closed in red on Friday (31st).
The S&P 500 rose 1.4% on Friday.Dow JonesThe Sri Lankan Industrial Average rose 414 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7%.
On a monthly basis, the S&P andThat fingerThey rose 3.51% and 6.69%, respectively, their best quarterly performance since 2020.at the same timeDow JonesThe monthly line closed at 1.89%.S&P andThat fingerRespectively rose 7.03% and 16.77%, dominated by technology stocksThat fingerIn terms of performance, this is the best quarter since 2020.Dow JonesThe quarterly increase reached 0.38%.
In terms of data, the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator – the core personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) in February increased by 4.6% year-on-year, which was lower than expected. At the same time, consumer spending is stable, and hopes that the Fed’s interest rate hike cycle is approaching the end emerge.
In terms of politics and economy, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new rules and regulations for electric vehicle subsidies in the “Inflation Reduction Act”. Requirements” and “battery components” two major regulations.
The performance of the four major US stock indexes on Friday (31st):
- US stocksDow Jones IndexIt gained 415.12 points, or 1.26 percent, to close at 33,274.15.
- NasdaqThe index rose 208.44 points, or 1.74 percent, to close at 12,221.91.
- S&P 500 IndexIt gained 58.48 points, or 1.44%, to close at 4,109.31.
- Philadelphia SemiconductorThe index rose 22.60 points, or 0.702%, to close at 3,230.86.
Focus stocks
The five kings of science and technology go hand in hand. Amazon (AMZN-US) up 1.26%; Meta (META-US) rose 1.97%; Apple (AAPL-US) rose 1.56%; Alphabet (GOOGL-US) rose 2.81%; Microsoft (MSFT-US) rose 1.50%.
Dow JonesComponent stocks rose almost in full. The Home Depot (HD-US) up 3.42%; Nike (OF THE US) rose 2.11%; 3M (MMM-US) rose 2.27%; American Express (AXP-US) rose 1.56%; Walgreens Boots (WBA-US) fell 0.14%.
fee halfConstituent stocks have their ups and downs. Micron (MU-US) down 4.36%; NVIDIA (NVDA-US) rose 2.17%; AMD (AMD-US) rose 1.62%; Applied Materials (AMAT-US) rose 2.96%; Texas Instruments (TXN-US) up 2.00%; Qualcomm (QCOM-US) rose 3.09%.
Taiwan stock ADR received more red. TSMC ADR (TSM-US) rose 0.59%; ASE ADR (ASX-US) rose 0.38%; UMC ADR (UMC-US) rose 0.81%; Chunghwa Telecom ADR (CHT US) fell 0.28%.
Corporate News
Micron (MU-US) tumbled 4.36% to $60.34 per share. As the confrontation between the United States and China is heating up, Beijing is targeting Micron in order to counter the encirclement by the United States and its allies.
Trump concept stock Digital World Acquisition (DWAC-US) rose 7.58 percent to $14.05 a share. Former U.S. President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in New York for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former president in U.S. history to be charged with a criminal offense. A prosecution, or even a conviction, would not prevent him from running for president.
British Aerospace Virgin Orbit (VORB-US) plunged 41.19% to US$0.20 per share. Virgin Orbit, owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, has announced it will cease operations after failing to raise funds. According to Virgin Orbit’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company’s headquarters in Long Beach, California, will lay off 675 people, accounting for about 85% of its workforce.
Netflix (NFLX-US) received a dividend of 2.08% to $345.48 per share. Foreign media reported that Netflix is reorganizing its film division and will reduce film releases.
Tesla (TSLA-US) rose 6.24% to $207.46 per share. The market predicts that Tesla may announce its first-quarter delivery report card this weekend. CFRA, an independent investment research company, is bullish on Tesla, upgrading its stock price rating from “buy” to “strong buy” and rating the stock The target price was raised from $250 per share to $275.00 per share.
It is rumored that Musk will go to China as soon as April to seek a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and the two sides are planning the exact time of the trip. If Musk’s China trip comes true, it will be his first visit to China since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
Economic data
- U.S. February PCE price index annual growth rate reported 5.0%, expected 5.1%, previous value 5.3%
- U.S. February PCE price index monthly growth rate reported 0.3%, expected 0.5%, previous value 0.6%
- The core PCE price index in the United States reported an annual growth rate of 4.6% in February, expected to be 4.7%, and the previous value of 4.7%
- The core PCE price index in the United States reported a monthly growth rate of 0.3% in February, expected to be 0.4%, and the previous value to be 0.5%
- U.S. February personal income growth rate reported at 0.3%, expected 0.2%, previous value 0.6%
- U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% in February, compared with 0.3% expected and 2.0% previously
- The final value of the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index in March was 62, expected 63.2, and the previous value was 63.4
Wall Street Analysis
“Overall, this round of data is consistent with the narrative of peaking inflation, but also with the Fed’s insistence that there is still work to be done in re-establishing price stability,” said Ian Lyngen, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.
“Recent comments from Fed officials signal increased confidence that financial policy intervention is making progress in containing stress in the banking sector, but the Fed is likely to tighten policy further to address inflation risks,” said Krishna Guha, analyst at Evercore ISI. The possibility still exists.”
Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, said: “The recent rally in U.S. stocks has helped to confirm the market’s view that the problems that have led to a crisis of confidence in the market are likely to be well contained. The semiconductor sector has been regarded as an important bellwether for global growth. , the sector has performed strongly recently.”
The numbers are all updated before the deadline, please refer to the actual quotation