Wall Street experienced a slight decline on Wednesday after a strong rally that had propelled it 16% higher for the year. The S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to 4,446.82, pulling back from its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 34,288.46, while the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.2% to 13,791.65. Global markets faced more significant declines following concerning news about China’s economy. The growth of China’s services industry in the previous month was slower than expected, indicating that the second-largest economy is struggling in its recovery after COVID restrictions were lifted.
On the other hand, the US economy has demonstrated resilience beyond what many investors anticipated. Despite higher interest rates aimed at combating inflation, the job market has remained remarkably strong, effectively defying recession predictions. A recent report showed steady growth for US factory orders in May, although economists had expected acceleration. There is growing optimism that inflation will cool down enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to halt its rate hikes, which have been suppressing inflation but also slowing down the entire economy. At the most recent meeting, the Fed decided to keep rates steady, marking the first time in over a year that they refrained from raising rates.
Minutes from the June meeting revealed that while some Fed officials favored rate hikes, the unanimous decision was to maintain the federal funds rate within a range of 5% to 5.25%, a significant increase from near-zero levels in early 2021.
In the stock market, shares of UPS declined by 2.4% as the company negotiated with the Teamsters union representing around 340,000 workers. The current contract is set to expire at the end of the month, and last month, Teamsters members voted in favor of a strike authorization. Companies heavily reliant on the Chinese market, such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, also experienced weakness, with both suffering drops of at least 4.5%. On a positive note, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, saw a 2.9% increase. It is preparing to launch a new app called Threads, which appears to have similarities to Twitter. This boost adds to Meta Platforms’ exceptional year, during which it has surged by 145%.
(Source: Newser.com)
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
