|
|
|
US equities post mixed weekly results amid Fed decision
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
IANS | 03 Aug, 2020
Wall Street's major averages posted mixed results in the week as
investors digested the US Federal Reserve's latest policy statement and a
slew of grim economic data.
For the week ending Friday, the Dow
lost 0.2 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 1.7 per
cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively, Xinhua news agency reported on
Saturday.
The S&P US Listed China 50 index, which is designed
to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on
US exchanges by total market cap, logged a weekly rise of 3 per cent.
"As
we wait for a vaccine and for the market to fully recover, many
investors will have to brace themselves for continued volatility,"
analysts at Zacks Investment Management said in a note on Saturday.
"Market
volatility is challenging for just about every investor, especially
with all the unknowns that come with the current pandemic," they added.
Wall Street eyed the Federal Reserve's latest economic assessment and its interest rate decision.
The
US central bank on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged
at the record-low level of near zero amid a resurgence in COVID-19
cases nationwide.
"The ongoing public health crisis will weigh
heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near
term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the
medium term," the Fed said in a statement after concluding a two-day
policy meeting, adding it decided to maintain the target range for the
federal funds rate at 0-0.25 per cent.
The Fed slashed interest rates to near zero earlier this year in an effort to support the economy amid the pandemic shock.
As
of Saturday afternoon, the United States has reported more than 4.5
million COVID-19 cases and over 153,000 deaths -- both figures the
highest worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The
United States has suffered its worst economic decline on record as the
economy contracted at an annual rate of 32.9 per cent in the second
quarter of the year, amid mounting COVID-19 fallout, the US Commerce
Department reported Thursday.
"'As expected' is the best that can
be said about second quarter GDP. It was abysmal, but at least it was
not a surprise," Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a
note.
Looking ahead, Low said "weakness is likely to linger in
business investment and state and local government spending, where cuts
are already in the works."
Moreover, US initial jobless claims, a
rough way to gauge layoffs, came in at 1.434 million in the week ending
July 25, an increase of 12,000 from the prior week's revised level, the
Department of Labor said on Thursday. The previous week's level was
revised up to 1.422 million.
The week also featured a big wave of earnings reports including those from Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet.
The
above four tech giants all reported after Thursday's close. Apple
delivered quarterly revenue of US $59.7 billion, up by 11 per cent year
on year, with quarterly earnings per diluted share of US $2.58, up by 18
per cent. The stock surged more than 10 per cent on Friday.
Facebook and Amazon reported quarterly results that beat forecasts, sending shares of each company noticeably higher on Friday.
Google-parent
Alphabet also beat Wall Street in second-quarter earnings, but the
company's overall revenue declined for the first time in its history.
The stock struggled on Friday.
US equities advanced in the past
month. The Dow rose 2.4 per cent in July, the S&P 500 climbed 5.5
per cent and the Nasdaq surged 6.8 per cent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|