The Dow Jones Industrial dropped 0.12 percent at the close. and amounted to 39,118.86 points. The S&P 500 lost 0.41% at the end of the day. and amounted to 5,460.48 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.71%. and closed the session at 17,732.60 points. The Russell 2000 mid-cap index is up 0.46%. up to 2,047.69 points The VIX volatility index increases by 1.63%, to 12.44 points.
The artificial intelligence craze has fired up the imagination of investors
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the first half of the year, climbing 18.1% as the artificial intelligence craze captured investor imaginations. The broad market S&P 500 index rose 14.5% in the first six months of 2024, while the blue-chip Dow index lagged behind, gaining about 3.8%. One reason for the Dow’s poor performance is the pullback in the second quarter. The Dow fell 1.7% during that period, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 3.9% and 8.3%, respectively. during the same period. All three rose in popularity in June, marking their seventh positive month in eight. The Nasdaq once again led the way with a monthly gain of almost 6%. The S&P 500 and Dow gained 3.5 and 1.1 percent, respectively. Since the beginning of this week, the Nasdaq has increased by 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Dow fell less than 0.1%.
Investors are assessing the US inflation reading. The PCE deflator in the US in May was 2.6%. y/y, compared to 2.7 percent y/y a month earlier and the consensus level was 2.6%. The base rate was 2.6%. y/y vs 2.8 percent a month earlier and expectations at 2.6 percent. rdr. According to FedWatch LSEG data, market participants predict a 61% probability of reducing interest rates in the US by 25 basis points. in September and they expect there will be two reductions by the end of the year. The sentiment index among American consumers, prepared by the University of Michigan, dropped to 68.2 points in June. with 69.1 points a month earlier – given in the final calculation. The initial estimate was 65.6 points.
The inflation expected by respondents in June was 3.0 percent over the year. compared to 3.3 percent previously, and in the long term 3.0 percent. compared to 3.0 percent previously. Spending by American consumers in May increased by 0.2%. mdm, after an increase of 0.1 percent a month earlier, after correction from +0.2%. An increase of 0.3 percent was expected. mdm. Americans’ incomes increased by 0.5%. vs. +0.3 percent a month earlier. Here the market expected an increase of 0.4%. mdm. On the oil market, WTI contracts for August are down by 0.26%. to USD 81.53 per barrel, and August Brent futures increase by 0.01%. up to USD 86.40/b.
