The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and eventually ended the trading session with slight gains today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained only 0.04%; the S&P 500 climbed 0.19%, and the NASDAQ went up by 0.43%.
Yesterday, James Bullard, the president of the Federal Bank of St. Louis predicted that the central bank would raise the interest rate in the first quarter next year. He also estimated that the unemployment rate would drop below 6%, and the inflation would rise close to 2% by the end of this year.
The Department of Commerce reported that consumer spending grew 0.2%, below the 0.4% expected by economists.
James Liu, a global market strategist at JP Morgan Funds said, “We did have a very good quarter relative to the first, so maybe that means on the margin people are going to be a little more cautious, especially because of the bad economic data that has come out this week.”
The Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan’s final index of consumer sentiment for June climbed from 81.9% to 82.5%.
“The consumer sentiment numbers support indicators pointing to a continued rebound, whether it’s employment numbers, stock prices or home values,” according to Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Bank during a phone interview with Bloomberg.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 16,853.26 (+0.04%)
- S&P 500- 1,960.98 (+0.19%)
- NASDAQ- 4,397.93 (+0.43%)
- Russell 2000- 1,187.31 (+0.56%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,227.85 (-0.17%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,757.77 (+0.34%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,815.17 (+0.10%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 15,095.00 (-1.39%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,221.52 (+0.10%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2,150.26 (+0.06%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) declined more than 7% to %59.17 per share after the discount retailer announced the retirement of its chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling next year. The company is conducting an internal and external search for a new leader.
The shares of E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) dropped more than 3% to $65.44 per share after the company lowered its operating earnings outlook for the second quarter and full year 2014 due to the weakness of its agriculture segment.
Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) gained more than 4% to $125.25 per share after John Staszak, an analyst at Argus Research raised his rating for the stock from Hold to Buy with a price target of $140 per share. According to him, the company is expected to generate solid earnings and revenue during the remainder of fiscal 2014 and throughout fiscal 2015. He estimated that Keurig Green Mountain will achieve a 10% growth in revenue to $4.8 billion this year.
