The stock markets in the United States ended the trading session higher today, which were primarily driven by positive economic data and speculation that central banks will continue to support economic growth.
The consumer confidence surprising increased in August, an indication that Americans have brighter moods amid the strengthening labor market in the United States. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index climbed to 82.5% from 81.8% in July. Economists forecasted that the consumer confidence will be at 80%.
In Europe, the prices of consumer goods increased 0.3% in August. The unemployment in the region remained at 11.5%. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi recently stated that the inflation in the euro-zone weakened, and he indicated that policy makers are prepared to implement new stimulus.
In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Paul Atkinson, head of North American equities at Aberdeen Management told Bloomberg, “Investors’ lack of exposure to equities is still what drives the market higher, along with valuations which aren’t stretched.”
On the other hand, Paul Zemsky, head of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management commented, “The ECB meeting is next week and Draghi kind of pre-committed at Jackson Hole when he started talking about inflation being below their desired range.” He added, “If they don’t do something different, global markets will be disappointed.”
U.S. stock markets are experiencing the lowest trading volume in almost six years as Labor Day holiday weekend approaches. Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that the trading volume has been below 5 billion shares over the past eight days.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 17,098.45 (+0.11%)
- S&P 500- 2,003.37 (+0.33%)
- NASDAQ- 4,580.27 (+0.50%)
- Russell 2000- 1,174.35 (+0.72%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,172.63 (+0.26%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,819.75 (+0.20%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,470.17 (+0.08%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 15,424.59 (-0.23%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 24,742.06 (0.00%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2,338.29 (+1.17%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price Avago Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) gained more than 7% to $82.09 per share after reporting better than expected financial results for the third-quarter. The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.26 per share compared with the $1.06 per share consensus estimate. Several analysts reiterated their positive recommendations for the stock. Morgan Stanley analysts reiterated their Overweight rating for the stock while Pacific Crest raised its price target to $90 a share.
The shares of Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSUN) declined more than 9% to $2.08 per share after the apparel retailer forecasted to incur losses, higher than the expectations of Wall Street analysts for the third-quarter.
Veeva Systems Inc (NYSE:VEEV) surged more than 20% to $29.97 per share after reporting second-quarter financial results that beat the consensus estimates of Wall Street analysts. The cloud-based business services provider posted a non-GAAP net income of $0.07 per share on $75.7 million in revenue. Analysts expected Veeva Systems to report $0.05 earnings per share on $69.28n million in revenue.
