Don’t trade coronavirus, wait for econ data-analyst
January 31, 2020
Stocks stage late-day comeback from coronavirus fears
January 31, 2020Wall Street closed higher Thursday after spending most of the session in the red, bouncing back after statements from the World Health Organization which has not called for travel restrictions despite the epidemic of the new Chinese coronavirus.
Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average appreciated by 0.43% to 28,859.44 points.
The highly technological Nasdaq gained 0.26% to 9,298.93 points and the broad S&P 500 index gained 0.31% to 3,283.66 points.
The WHO said on Thursday that the Chinese viral pneumonia epidemic, which has spread to several regions of the world, constitutes an international emergency.
The UN agency, however, has not recommended restrictions on the movement of goods and people around the world.
This announcement allowed the main New York indices, which had hitherto declined, to rise at the end of the session.
“The market is relieved that the WHO has brought some hope that the virus will not spread further and hamper economic activity,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities.
The toll of the viral pneumonia epidemic, however, increased on Thursday and now stands at 170 dead in China.
New York indices also benefited on Thursday from a series of corporate results, most of them positive.
Tesla, which displayed a radiant shape on Wednesday after the close, jumped 10.30%. The group notably said it wanted to deliver more than half a million cars in 2020, which would represent a jump of 36% in one year.
The market value of the manufacturer of high-end electric cars is now higher than that of the three main American car manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler USA.
Coca-Cola (+ 3.25%) saw its quarterly net profit more than double thanks in particular to an increase in sales in Latin America and Asia Pacific.
Microsoft, whose results greatly exceeded expectations thanks to the excellent performance of its “cloud”, rose 2.82%.
On the other hand, Facebook, which reported an increase in its number of users and turnover in the last quarter of 2019, but saw its spending soar, fell by 6.14%.
Logistics group UPS, which reported disappointing forecasts for 2020, plunged 6.7%.
“Overall, these are very solid results, especially in the technology sector,” said Alan Skrainka of Cornerstone Wealth Management.
Among the indicators, GDP growth in the United States slowed to 2.3% year on year, according to a preliminary estimate from the Commerce Department published Thursday, against 2.9% in 2018. This is much less than the 3% targeted by President Donald Trump.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate of American debt rose slightly, coming in at 1.591% around 9:25 p.m. GMT against 1.584% the day before at the close.
