Wall Street closed with gains this week, after starting Monday in the red, reported by good economic data, such as the employment record published this Friday in which the creation of nearly 200,000 jobs in November was revealed.
Among the main stock market indicators on the other side of the ocean, the 0.2% rise in the S&P 500 stands out, which has recorded its best figure of the year and, together with the Dow Jones, has been on the rise for six weeks, its best streak since 2019 On the other hand, the Nasdaq, where the main technology companies are listed, has risen 0.7%, in addition to a marginal increase in the Dow Jones Industrials, its main indicator.
According to analysts, the market has optimistically welcomed this Friday’s good employment data, which points to the long-awaited “soft landing” of the economy that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has sought with its cycle of interest rate hikes. interests.
With inflation inching closer to its 2% target, most investors believe the central bank will begin lowering rates in the first half of 2024, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“As long as the soft landing remains intact, the trend towards stocks and risk assets will remain positive,” analyst Michael Arone of State Street Global Advisors told CNBC, according to statements reported by EFE.
So marked was the optimism this Friday on the New York stock market that the shares of giants such as Boeing, FedEx and Costco reached their highest figures of the year throughout the day.
However, the good employment figures (the unemployment rate was reduced in November to 3.7%, despite the fact that analysts expected it to remain at 3.9%) forced a certain caution, with the ten-year Treasury bond, the reference, recovering its levels from the beginning of September and closing this Friday at 4.233%.
Some investors expected a slowdown in the labor market that would point more clearly to the need to lower interest rates.
However, data from the consumer sentiment survey conducted by the University of Michigan was also released this Friday, showing that household expectations regarding the increase in inflation fell significantly in December.
Fed regulators pay close attention to the public’s expectations about the direction of price increases, and always seek as much alignment as possible.
The data may give the central bank reason to keep rates where they are, in the range between 5.25% and 5.5%, at its next meeting, which will be held next week.
Now it is in the hands of investors to continue purchasing shares in December, a month that usually gives rise to a good streak known as the ‘Santa Claus rally’, and which lasts until the first days of the new year.
