Stocks on Wall Street have opened higher, pointing towards another weekly gain for major indexes. The S&P 500 is up 0.4%, the Dow is up 69 points (0.2%), and the Nasdaq composite is up 0.5%. The S&P 500 is set to achieve a 1% gain for the week, marking its eighth weekly gain in the last ten weeks. Earnings reports from U.S. companies continue to be released, with Scholastic's much higher earnings report driving a 13.8% surge in its stock, while Interpublic's reduced outlook led to a 7.9% decline.
Stocks in Europe and Asia showed mixed results after the recent Wall Street rally faltered, particularly for big tech-oriented stocks like Tesla and Netflix, causing declines. While benchmarks rose in London, Paris, and Hong Kong, they fell in Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Shanghai. U.S. futures and oil prices are slightly higher.
Although Big Tech stocks have been instrumental in driving the S&P 500's gains this year, many technology companies have forecasted potential weaknesses ahead, impacting the momentum. However, most tech companies were steady or slightly higher in pre-market trading.
In Asian trading, Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.8% following TSMC's announcement that it expects a 10% sales decline this year due to decreased demand and a delay in starting production at its Arizona factory. Japan reported a slight increase in consumer inflation in June, but excluding energy and volatile food costs, price increases fell, relieving pressure on the central bank to adjust its long-standing ultra-lax monetary policy.
Investors are currently analyzing the state of the economy, which may be experiencing conflicting signals of being either too hot or too cold, with hopes for a "soft landing." The job market in the U.S. remains solid, with fewer unemployment benefit applications than expected, indicating stable employment conditions.
Crude oil prices have risen in electronic trading, and the U.S. dollar has strengthened against the Japanese yen.
Overall, the stock market's performance remains cautiously optimistic, with investors awaiting further evidence of economic dynamics before making significant moves.