Strong Economic Indicators and Earnings... S&P 500 Hits All-Time High, Bitcoin Down 3% (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher, supported by strong corporate earnings and economic indicators. The S&P 500 index also broke its all-time high.

On the 29th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239.98 points (0.71%) to close at 34,060.36, the S&P 500 index increased by 28.29 points (0.68%) to 4,211.47, and the Nasdaq index gained 31.52 points (0.22%) to finish at 14,082.55.

The major indices showed mixed trends as U.S. Treasury yields rose following the release of strong economic data, but later recorded gains as the pace of the yield increase slowed.

The U.S. economic growth rate for the first quarter (January to March) this year was 6.4% annualized. Last week, the number of U.S. unemployment benefit claims fell for the third consecutive week, marking a new low since the pandemic.

With economic recovery confirmed, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 1.69% during the day but later stabilized at 1.641%.

Apple and Facebook, which announced earnings the day before, delivered 'earnings surprises' that matched the current record-high stock valuations, stabilizing investor sentiment.

Facebook's stock price rose by as much as 7%, and Apple’s price increased by 2.6% intraday but closed down 0.07%.

McDonald's and Amazon, which reported earnings on the same day, also showed better-than-expected results. Amazon's first-quarter sales surged 44% year-over-year to $108.5 billion. Amazon also announced that the Prime Day sale event, which caused confusion last year, will be held in June this year.

Amazon's stock price was up 3.5% in after-hours trading.

Qualcomm, a semiconductor chip maker for telecommunications, closed up 4.5% due to a 52% increase in sales driven by smartphone demand.

Automaker Ford fell more than 9% despite better-than-expected earnings, as it warned of sluggish vehicle production due to semiconductor shortages.

Some companies fell due to unexpected negative news. Shares of Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash plunged after the U.S. government indicated that gig workers should be classified as employees.

President Joe Biden announced a $1.8 trillion American family plan in his congressional speech the previous day, emphasizing tax increases on the wealthy, including capital gains tax hikes, but the market impact was limited.

Cryptocurrencies saw Bitcoin fall about 3%, trading around $52,900. Ethereum hit an all-time high intraday but then slightly declined, down 0.1% to the $2,700 range. Dogecoin was down 1.6%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.