An air of optimism blew in the Wall – Indices closed with gains of more than 1%

The main stock indices on Wall Street ended the day with an upward rally, as the fall in the applications for new unemployment benefits strengthened the investors’ confidence in the dynamics of the recovery of the US economy.

Shares in the semiconductor and hardware industries, which have more to gain from a recovering economy, led the way.

On the dashboard, the industrial Dow Jones increased by 349.44 points or 1.02%, to 34,707.94 points, with the widest S&P 500 to “add” 63.21 points or 1.42%, to 4,519.44 points, while the technological Nasdaq gained 269.24 points or 1.93%, at 14,191.84.

The three indicators are moving in a marginal upward trajectory on a weekly basis, after several “ups and downs”.

“There has been too much trend volatility over the last week,” said Victoria Fernandez, market strategy manager at Crossmark Global Investments.

The fall in unemployment benefits to a low of decades has led to the belief that, despite the Russia-Ukraine war and the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the economy will remain strong and will be able to respond.

Shares of the semiconductor industry dominated, in a climate of post-pandemic recovery, with that of Nvidia gaining 9.8%, that of Intel adding 6.9% and that of AMD gaining 5.8%.

In the materials sector, Nucor rose 4.3% and Freeport-McMoRan 3.3%.

Uber shares gained nearly 5% after the announcement of an agreement to include all New York taxis in its implementation.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, rose 4%, in another sign of strengthening the mood for investment risk.

The EU summit (after those of NATO and the G7) in Brussels, attended by US President Joe Biden, also attracted investment attention. The leaders discussed the Russian military offensive against Ukraine and ways to support Ukraine and its people, strengthen transatlantic cooperation in response to Russian aggression, security, defense issues and the gradual independence of the EU. from imports of Russian gas, oil and coal.

According to reports, the leaders are expected to announce an initiative for the immediate transfer of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. At the same time, the EU is moving to joint gas supplies from its 27 countries, and is considering imposing an extraordinary tax on energy companies’ surplus profits from the jump in prices in recent months.

Analysts, however, do not expect EU leaders to agree today on a new package of sanctions against Russia aimed at Russia’s energy sector.

Investors are also weighing in on the Fed’s interest rate stance amid persistently high inflation.

“Although the market is trying to recover from the recent correction, the climate poses far greater risks and uncertainties since the day Russia invaded Ukraine,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners.

Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, 28 moved with a positive sign and only 2 with a negative. The biggest increase was recorded by those of Intel, Apple and UnitedHealthwhile losses were recorded only by those of Nike and Home Depot.

Macro

Data released earlier showed that initial US unemployment benefit applications fell by 28,000 to 187,000 last week. This is the lowest level since 1969.

At the same time, orders for durable consumer goods fell 2.2% in February, according to government figures. Economists in a Wall Street Journal poll expected a reduction, but less by 1%.

The index of basic capital goods, which does not include transport and defense, also fell by 0.3%. This is the first decline of the index in the last 12 months.