As the trading session begins on Tuesday, the stock market exhibits a mixed opening, with investors eagerly awaiting earnings reports from some of the most influential companies that have experienced a significant rally this year. The S&P 500 remains relatively unchanged in early trading, hovering near its highest level in over 15 months. The Dow Jones slipped marginally by 20 points, less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite started with a 0.4% gain. General Electric (NYSE:GE) stands out with a notable 6.5% jump after reporting stronger profits for the spring than analysts had anticipated and raising its forecasts. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are among the major tech giants expected to release their earnings after the trading session closes. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve commences its latest meeting on interest rates.
Global stock markets and Wall Street futures display a mix of sentiments on Tuesday following the Chinese Communist Party’s assurance to bolster its slowing economy ahead of an eagerly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting. Traders hope the Fed will announce the final increase in this interest rate cycle.
While London and Shanghai stock markets showed advancement, Tokyo and Paris experienced a retreat. At the same time, oil prices have slightly decreased.
The Chinese leadership pledged measures to boost the sluggish economic growth by supporting real estate sales and other struggling sectors. However, no specific details were given, and there was no mention of potential stimulus spending.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 7,686.57 during early trading. The CAC 40 in Paris saw a minor decline of less than 0.1% to 7,424.47, and the DAX in Frankfurt shed less than 0.1% to reach 16,186.36.
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 showed a 0.15% increase ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for Wednesday. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained relatively unchanged.
Yesterday, the S&P 500 experienced a 0.4% rise, while the Dow Jones gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%.
Traders anticipate the Federal Reserve to announce another increase in its benchmark lending rate, reaching a 22-year high. However, they hope that this will be the final increase for this year, given that inflation rates, which were near multi-decade highs, have recently declined.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose by 2.1% to 3,231.52, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged by 4.1% to 19,434.40.
While the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo experienced a minor decline of less than 0.1% to 32,682.51, the Kospi in Seoul advanced by 0.3% to 2,636.46, and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 7,339.70.
In India, the Sensex retreated by 0.1% to 66,313.91. However, other Southeast Asian markets experienced advancement.
Traders are optimistic that the Federal Reserve will be able to achieve a “soft landing,” curbing inflation without plunging the U.S. economy into a recession. The timing and scale of the expected slump have been revised by traders after U.S. hiring and consumer spending demonstrated unexpected strength.
Tech giants Alphabet, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft, which significantly contributed to the S&P 500’s gains in the first half of this year, are among the companies scheduled to report their earnings for the April-June period this week. Each of these companies has seen a surge of at least 37% in their stock value this year.
The top-performing stocks in the market have become increasingly influential, leading Nasdaq to rebalance its Nasdaq 100 index in an attempt to mitigate the impact these stocks have on the overall index.
A recent report suggested that U.S. service industries are growing, but at a slower pace than anticipated. S&P Global’s preliminary report also indicated that U.S. manufacturing is performing better than previously feared, albeit with overall business activity growth in July slowing to its lowest in five months.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude experienced a negligible loss of 1 cent to reach $78.73 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the basis for international oil trading, experienced a slight decline of 7 cents to reach $82.41 per barrel in London.
The dollar witnessed a decline, reaching 141.25 yen from the previous 141.44 yen. The euro also experienced a decline, reaching $1.1065 from the earlier $1.1071.
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