Sheriff Adel (Washington)
At the end of a week that saw US stocks end their worst half-year in more than five decades, the last hour of trading on Friday saw “embarrassing” gains after a slump at the start of the trading session. The second half of the year starts with a good performance by the three most important indexes of US stocks.
And with the continued decline in U.S. Treasury yields safe in global financial markets and a decline of less than 2.9%, the S&P 500 index rose on days we didn’t see at the end of June. 1.06% at the end of the week, but it was ineffective in erasing the full week’s losses in the broad index of sectors of the US economy, which reached 2.2%, its eleventh weekly loss in the last thirteen weeks.
In turn, the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than three hundred points during the weekend session, representing 1.1% of its value, supported by the share of McDonald’s, which rose 2.5% and the Coca-Cola Company rose 2%, while the Nasdaq index was satisfied with a rise that did not complete one percent.
Despite the daily gains, all three indexes posted their fourth weekly losses in the past five weeks, and the Dow Jones index’s weekly loss reached 1.3%, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq index was down 4.1%.
The weekly loss came on the back of warning signs investors heard from several companies that cut their earnings guidance on stock prices, adding to fears of continued pressure from the country’s highest inflation rate in more than four decades.
Michael Perry, an expert on US financial markets, warned that the profits of US companies will fall further in the next two quarters, in an interview with the CNBC news channel, which specializes in economic and market news. And bond markets are still halfway there.
While technology stocks led losses, defensive stocks of consumer staples and utilities companies, known as “anti-panic stocks,” or defensive stocks, led the weekend’s gains.
“When we see defensive sectors outperforming more economically sensitive sectors, it tells us that investors are focusing on risks that threaten safe landings and increase the likelihood of a recession,” said Joshua Camner, market analyst at ClearBridge Investments.
