The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where fears of an economic recession have been lifted, continues to soar. This is because all three major indexes of the New York Stock Exchange, which are indicators of global capital investment, recorded the highest level since April last year. It has returned to the level before the time when the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) began to raise its key interest rate to curb inflation.
On the 18th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,951.93, up 366.58 points (1.06%) from the previous trading day. It has risen for seven consecutive trading days, continuing its longest rise in two years and four months since March 2021. The S&P 500 Index rose 32.19 points (0.71%) to 4,554.98, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 108.69 points (0.76%) to 14,353.64.
Behind the upward trend is the rise in stock prices of large banks and artificial intelligence (AI) companies which soar in NYSE. Bank of America (BoA), the second-largest bank in the U.S., announced that its sales and net profit in the second quarter increased 11% and 19% from the same period last year, respectively. The good performance is reflected in the stock price, and the BoA closed 4.42 percent higher. Investment bank Morgan Stanley also jumped 6.5 percent after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Following JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, which announced good results last week, these bank stocks played a role.
The AI craze is also ongoing. Microsoft Corp MS rose 3.98% to close at $359.49, its highest share price since its listing in March 1986. Analysts say that the introduction of corporate AI services as a new source of revenue reflects expectations. Nvidia, one of AI’s biggest beneficiaries, also rose 2.2 percent to a new all-time high.
However, some are concerned about the bubble created by expectations for a soft landing in the economy and strong consumption and price indicators that can gauge the direction of U.S. monetary policy. John Lynch, chief investment officer of Comerica Asset Management, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “We appreciate the technical momentum, but it is difficult to be optimistic about the outlook due to the bubble in the price-earnings ratio (PER).”
