Delta Impact Raises Concerns Over US Consumer Slump... NY Stock Market Gains Amid Possible Tapering Delay

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] As the spread of the Delta variant signals a downturn in U.S. consumer spending, government bond yields fell, but major indices on the New York Stock Exchange all rose.

On the 13th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.53 points (0.04%) to close at 35,515.38, the S&P 500 increased by 7.17 points (0.16%) to 4,468.00, and the Nasdaq rose 6.64 points (0.04%) to close at 14,822.90.

The most talked-about stock of the day was Walt Disney. Disney announced that its Q2 revenue increased by 45% compared to the same period last year and turned profitable, leading to a 1% rise in its shares.

Airbnb rose 1% despite warnings of potential earnings declines due to the spread of the Delta variant.

Micron, which had fallen 15% this week due to warnings about the deteriorating memory semiconductor market, rebounded with a 0.9% increase.

Space travel company Virgin Galactic fell 2.2% following news of Richard Branson, Virgin Group chairman, selling his shares.

Apple's stock showed a firm upward trend, maintaining its all-time high levels.

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August, released that day, recorded 70.2, the lowest since December 2011, shaking the financial markets. The fact that it fell below the low of 71.8 recorded in April last year during the height of COVID-19 and set a new 10-year low pulled down government bond yields.

On the day, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dropped 0.08 percentage points to 1.283%. The dollar also declined. The dollar index plunged 0.5% to 92.517.

The market analyzed that the possibility of consumer slowdown, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy, lowered the chances of the Federal Reserve (Fed) implementing early asset purchase tapering or interest rate hikes.

Investing.com reported that the weak consumer sentiment index shows that expectations for economic normalization are shrinking due to the spread of the Delta variant.

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