Wall Street solid, with the Dow Jones rising 0.31% to 34,993 points, the S&P 500 rising 0.41% to 4,387 points and the Nasdaq rising 0.55% to 14,759 points.
The publication of the speech that Fed President Jerome Powell will deliver to the US Congress at 6 pm Italian time calms the nerves of investors, shaken following the confirmation of the flare-up of inflation in the US, which arrived yesterday with the spread of the price index to consumption.
The figure flew in June by 5.4% on an annual basis, at the fastest pace of the last 13 years, well above the + 4.9% expected by the consensus and after the + 5% in May. Excluding the more volatile components of energy and food prices, the figure jumped by 4.5%, compared to the + 4% estimated by the consensus, after the + 3.8% in May and the record since September 1991.
That said, Powell will give reassurance on the support that monetary policy will continue to provide to the US economy:
“We continue to foresee that it will be appropriate to maintain the current range of the rate target until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Commission’s assessment of maximum employment, and until inflation will not have risen to 2% and moderately exceeded 2% for some time. As the Commission (the FOMC) reiterated in the June communiqué, with inflation remaining below 2% persistently, we will try to achieve inflation moderately above 2% over time, so that inflation reaches an average of 2% (in line with AIT’s average inflation targeting policy) and that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored at 2% ”.
The helmsman of the American central bank will emphasize again that the leap that inflation has brought back and will continue to carry over in the coming months will be transitory.
In addition to the securities of the banks that have published the financial results for the second quarter, the focus of the markets is on Apple, with the title that has tested a new all-time record.
Bloomberg reported rumors that the Cupertino giant will increase production of its new iPhones this year by 20%. JP Morgan analysts have also included the Big Tech stock in their Focus list, also reviewing the target price at the same time, in the belief that the stock can rise up to + 20% in the next 12 months.
Other banks and financial giants announced their balance sheets today, following the better than expected balance sheets released yesterday by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Bank of America announced that it ended Q2 of the year with earnings nearly tripled to $ 8.96 billion, or $ 1.03 per share, compared to $ 3.28 billion, or 37 cents per share, for the same period of the year. last. Earnings beat estimates, with analysts interviewed by Factset forecasting an eps of 77 cents. However, revenue disappointed the outlook, falling 4% to $ 21.5 billion, worse than the estimated $ 21.8 billion. Net interest income also fell 6% to $ 10.2 billion, less than the expected $ 10.4 billion. The stock loses about 2.5%.
BlackRock, the world‘s number one asset management giant, reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue, with assets under management (AUM) leaping by 30%, and net flows exceeding $ 80 billions. BlackROck’s AUMs have flown to an astronomical $ 9.5 trillion.
Net earnings for the American giant rose to $ 1.38 billion, or $ 8.92 per share, from $ 1.21 billion, or $ 7.85 per share, for the same period of 2020. However, the stock is down by almost -4. %.
Citigroup, the third largest bank in the United States, announced that it had grossed net income of $ 6.2 billion, or $ 2.85 per share, well over $ 1.1 billion, or 38 cents per share in the second quarter of 2020. .
The result was also much higher than the $ 1.96 estimated by the consensus of the analysts interviewed by Refinitiv.
Revenue stood at $ 17.47 billion, down 12%, better than the expected $ 17.2 billion. The stock goes up, as does Wells Fargo, which also reported a better than expected profit.
Focus also on Delta Air Lines, which announced that it had reported its first quarterly profit – equal to $ 652 million – since 2019, thanks to the federal aid it has received along with other American airlines. The stock, rising in the premarket, is now under pressure.