US stocks closed trading with gains today. Published economic statistics eased fears of a recession, and the market was boosted by the successful launch of the British chip developer Arm on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It strengthened the US dollar.
US Stock Market Rises
The Dow Jones index, which includes shares of thirty leading American companies, added 0.96 percent today and ended trading at 34,907.11 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.84 percent to 4,505.10 points and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies from the advanced technology sector, rose 0.81 percent to 13,926.05 points.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.6 percent in August, more than expected. The number of new applications for unemployment benefits increased slightly.
Arm’s Successful Nasdaq Debut
Arm shares opened today’s trading up ten percent against the initial public offering (IPO) price. In the end, they even added 24.7 percent. The shares of other chip manufacturers Nvidia, Micron Technology and Broadcom also strengthened.
Arm’s successful launch, according to Reuters, gives hope to other companies planning to go public. “The game is back on. The capital markets are open for business,” Great Hill Capital LLC Chairman Thomas Hayes told Reuters. “You’re going to see so many IPOs (initial public offerings) in the next 12 weeks it’s going to make your head spin,” he added.
The US dollar did well in the foreign exchange market. Against it, the euro fell to its lowest level since the end of May. The European Central Bank (ECB) today raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.50 percent, signaling that it has reached the end of the current rate hike cycle.
The dollar index, which expresses the value of the dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, added 0.6 percent to 105.37 points shortly before 10 p.m. CEST. The euro lost 0.8 percent to $1.0642.
Source: ÄŒTK
