New York Stocks Started Cautiously After Positive Unemployment Figures
Stocks in New York started the trading session with modest gains on Thursday. New figures on benefit claims in the United States point to further recovery in the labour market. In addition, the meeting of oil cartel OPEC and allies was looked at with a slanted eye.
The number of new unemployment claims in the US fell more than experts on average had expected last week. In total, 364,000 people made use of the social safety net, which is 51,000 fewer than a week earlier.
In stock markets, the news can be received doubly. It suggests that the economy is on the mend after the coronavirus pandemic, but it could also prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more quickly. The Dow-Jones index started the new month with a plus of 0.1 percent to 34,533 points. The broad S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 4304 points, and tech exchange Nasdaq posted a 0.1 percent gain to 14,522 points.
More signals of economic recovery from the corona crisis also came from Europe. According to market researcher Markit, manufacturing in the eurozone overgrew in June, despite shortages of parts and raw materials.
According to insiders, the cartel of oil countries OPEC and allies such as Russia have agreed on a further increase in oil production. The news did not immediately lead to a fall in oil prices. A barrel of US oil rose 3.2 percent in value to $75.85. Brent was up 2.5 percent at $76.44. Oil companies Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips were up almost 4 percent.
Drugstore group Walgreens Boots Alliance released quarterly figures and saw reason to raise its profit forecast for the whole of 2021. However, investors were not enthusiastic and put the stock 7.2 percent lower. The company provides part of the vaccinations for the vaccination campaign against corona in the United States. In addition, the group’s subsidiaries sold more prescription drugs than a year earlier, when there were no corona vaccines, and the pandemic caused sales to fall.
There was also takeover news. Investor Blackstone (minus 0.1 percent) took over nearly $3.9 billion in real estate from MGM Resorts, which rose 2.3 percent.
