Wall Street positive after the data relating to the GDP of the United States, which continues to march at a faster pace than expected: a factor that triggers new doubts about the Fed’s intentions, but which today does not curb the desire to buy, at least on technology stocks , thanks to the Tesla effect.
At 15.45 Italian time, the Dow Jones remains cautious, marking a progress of 0.26%, the S&P 500 advances by 0.62% and the great protagonist is once again confirmed by the Nasdaq, which marks a rally of more than +1%.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, American GDP rose at an annualized rate of 2.9%, beyond the +2.6% expected by the consensus of analysts.
The US economy does not seem to be slowing significantly: and this could be a problem for Jerome Powell’s Fed, who has left no doubts about his intention to significantly curb the economy’s fundamentals, so as to be able to slow down also the race of inflation.
Positive indications from the macroeconomic front of the United States also came with the publication of the weekly claims for unemployment benefits, which fell by 6,000 units to 186,000. Yet another confirmation of the solidity of the US labor market.
Another widespread positive data is that relating to orders for durable goods, which took off in December on an annual basis by 5.6%, much better than the estimated 2.5% drop, compared to the previous performance of -0.1%. Even better ex-transport orders, which jumped by 6.3%, versus the expected 0.2% drop. It is true that excluding the defense and aviation sector, the indicator fell by 0.2%, in line with forecasts.
Wholesale inventories instead increased by 0.1% again in December, compared to the previous +1%.
These numbers are crucial to anticipating the outcome of the upcoming meeting of the FOMC, the monetary policy arm of the Fed.
The meeting will start next Tuesday 31st January and conclude with the announcement of rates on Wednesday 1st February.
The markets expect a further hike in fed funds rates by Jerome Powell & Co. of 25 or 50 basis points, confirming the battle against inflation that the US central bank continues to wage.
Returning to GDP, the one just released by the US Department of Commerce is the preliminary reading of the data, which will be followed by two revisions.
Growth slowed down compared to the third quarter of 2022, when GDP grew at a rate of 3.2%.
The Nasdaq today benefits from the Tesla effect, after the publication of the quarterly report referring to the last three months of 2022, which highlighted profits and turnover at record values.
The stock soars on Wall Street by 10%, after the CEO of the EV giant Elon Musk said the group could be able to produce 2 million cars, during the course of 2023.
On the earnings front, Tesla brought in $3.69 billion, or $1.07 per share, up from $2.3 billion, or 68 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
On an adjusted basis, Tesla’s fourth quarter 2022 EPS (earnings per share) came in at $1.19, above the $1.13 per share estimates by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Revenue jumped 37% to $24.32 billion from $17.7 billion in the same quarter of 2021, slightly above the $24.16 billion expected by the refinitiv consensus, and below the $24.67 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Among the most active stocks on Wall Street, also pay attention to Chevron, after the oil giant announced a plan to buy back shares worth $75 billion.
IBM under pressure, despite the quarterly better than expected. The outlook of the company has a negative impact, as it said it expects turnover for 2023 – at constant exchange rates – in line with its mid-single digit model.
IBM also announced it was cutting nearly 4,000 employees, about 1.5% of its workforce.
Yesterday Wall Street closed under the banner of weakness: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 9.88 points, just +0.03%, to 33,743.84. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.18% to 11,313.36, while the S&P 500 finished the session up just 0.02% to 4,016.22.
In the fixed income market, rates on 10-year Treasuries fluctuate around 3.489%, while yields on two-year Treasuries rise to 4.17%.