Wall Street closes higher; S&P 500 gains driven by defensive stocks and tech


S&P 500 closes higher on defensives and tech stocks

The S&P 500 closed higher on Thursday, after a choppy day, in which the earnings of the defensive actions Y technological offset declines in business cycle-sensitive groups, while concerns about a possible recession persist.

The S&P 500 It swung back and forth during the session as investors weighed whether the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes to rein in rising inflation would hurt the economy.

The yields of United States Treasury fell to two-week lows, supporting technology and growth stocks.

Trading has remained volatile after the S&P 500 closed last week with its biggest weekly percentage drop since March 2020. Investors are weighing how far the stock could fall.

“There’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty about the outlook and that’s why the market is confused,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital in South Carolina.

The S&P 500 gained 35.84 points, or 0.95%, to 3,795.73 units, while the nasdaq it gained 179.11 points, or 1.62%, to 11,232.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average it rose 194.23 points, or 0.64%, to 30,677.36 units.

On his second day before Congress, the head of the US central bank, Jerome Powell, said that the compromise of the fed of curbing inflation is “unconditional”, but it also carries the risk of higher unemployment.

US business activity slowed sharply in June as high inflation and declining consumer confidence curbed demand across the board, a survey showed on Thursday.

“The Fed wants things to start slowing down and the data is starting to reflect that,” said James Ragan, director of wealth management research at DA Davidson.

The analysts of Citi Group forecast a near 50% chance of a global recession.

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