NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rose and the dollar hit a seven-week high on Thursday as improving sales prospects for retail giant Walmart Inc and strong economic data eased fears of a recession.
* Investors also seemed buoyed by signs that negotiators appear to be nearing an agreement on the US federal government’s debt ceiling.
* All three major US stock indexes faltered initially but soon regained strength, with technology stocks leading the way behind the Nasdaq.
* Walmart reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year sales forecasts, citing resilience in consumer spending and offsetting lower forecasts this week from Home Depot Inc and Target Corp.
* Debt Limit Debate “Kabuki is like theater — we’ve seen this story many times before,” said Charles Carlson of Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “Some will work on their own and that may mean a move down the road. There may be a short-term effect on the markets, but if you’re a long-term investor there’s no point basing your decisions on that.” debt ceiling talks.
* A report showed that fewer people than expected filed initial claims for jobless benefits last week, supporting the prospect of a “soft landing” but also lowering bets that the Federal Reserve would withdraw before the end of the year. Will cut interest rates.
* “Walmart’s numbers were good, and jobless claims indicate the economy is a bit stronger, so the narrative that the Fed will cut rates later in the year seems, for today, unlikely.” “, he added.
* European shares rose on optimism about the US debt ceiling and the German DAX rose to its highest since January 2022. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% and MSCI’s measure of global shares added 0.29%.
* Emerging market shares were up 0.14%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific excluding Japanese shares improved 0.28%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.60%.
* In foreign exchange markets, the dollar index fell 0.62% and the euro 0.68% to $1.0765, while the yen fell 0.65% to 138.60 units per dollar and sterling fell 0.63% to $1.2407.
* The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond hit 3.6343%, the highest since March, and the 30-year bond price 15/32 eased to 3.9059%.
* Crude oil prices were down about 1%, having risen in the previous session, and spot gold was down 1.3% at $1,955.09 an ounce.
