According to the latest report from the Associated Press, stocks on Wall Street turned mixed after an early gain. The S&P 500 rose by 0.1%, which marks its fourth straight week of gains. However, more stocks fell than rose in the index, and big tech companies were doing most of the heavy lifting.
Tech stocks have been responsible for much of Wall Street’s gains, and Adobe rose by 4.2% while Advanced Micro Devices increased by 2.4%. General Motors and Tesla also saw an increase in their stock prices after announcing a deal to charge electric vehicles. Electric vehicles made by General Motors will soon be able to use much of Tesla’s extensive charging network starting early next year.
Despite the lackluster trading all week due to a lack of significant reports or news on market movement, the benchmark S&P index still gained enough ground on Thursday to close 20% above its October low, entering a new bull market.
The latest round of corporate earnings is coming to an end, but some reports still managed to move some stocks. Ski resort operator Vail Resorts fell by 5% after reporting disappointing results.
Next week, Wall Street will have more potentially market-influencing economic updates to contend with as the government releases May consumer inflation data on Tuesday and retail sales data on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest update on interest rates.
The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its meeting next week after ten consecutive rate hikes. The central bank has been raising rates in an effort to control inflation and they are currently at their highest levels since 2007.
Economists expect next week’s data to confirm that inflation is declining but also anticipate seeing a drop in retail sales. Consumer spending and a strong job market have been a bulwark against recession in an otherwise weak economy.
Any significant drop in employment or consumer spending could raise concerns that a recession is looming, mild or otherwise.
Source: apnews
