S&P500 Rises 100% Since COVID Crisis... Apple Surpasses $150 (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Despite concerns over the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the situation in Afghanistan, the S&P 500 index achieved a remarkable feat by doubling in the shortest period since World War II. Apple’s stock price closed above $150 for the first time ever.

On the 16th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110.02 points (0.31%) to close at 35,625.40, the S&P 500 index increased by 11.71 points (0.26%) to 4,479.71, and the Nasdaq index fell 29.14 points (0.20%) to finish at 14,793.76.

Although the market showed weakness reflecting indicators of slowing Chinese economic growth and concerns over Afghanistan, both the Dow and S&P 500 indices succeeded in reaching record highs late in the session.

News of China’s July industrial production rising 6.4% year-on-year and retail sales increasing 8.5%, both significantly below expectations, dampened investor sentiment early in the trading session.

The news of the Islamic militant group Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, also stirred market anxiety, but investor sentiment largely recovered in the afternoon.

It is analyzed that this reflected expectations that the retail sales data to be released the next day might show a positive trend.

CNBC reported that the S&P 500 index has exactly doubled from its low of 2,237.40 on March 23 last year, marking the fastest doubling of the index since World War II. CNBC noted that it usually takes about 1,000 trading days for the index to double, but this time it only took 354 trading days.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Despite the stock market’s strong performance, U.S. Treasury yields fell from the 1.30% range last week to 1.24%. The decline in Treasury yields is analyzed as reflecting concerns over delayed recovery in the Chinese economy and the possibility of weak consumer spending.

This week, consumer data is the focus of market attention. On the 17th, July retail sales results will be announced. Retailers such as Home Depot, Costco, Walmart, and Target are all scheduled to release their earnings reports.

With the spread of the Delta variant, if consumer spending?which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy?either weakens or rises sharply, it could impact the Federal Reserve’s normalization of monetary policy.

Apple rose 1.3% to close at $151.12, surpassing $150 for the first time ever on a closing basis. The anticipation of the iPhone 13 launch is believed to be driving Apple’s recent stock price gains.

On the same day, Apple announced that it will resume offline classes at Apple Stores across the U.S., including New York, and most of Europe starting from the 30th. Apple had suspended in-store classes since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Moderna’s stock, which has recently been adjusting, fell more than 4%, and Tesla dropped 4% as regulatory investigations into its autonomous driving features began. Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio also plunged by 6%.

Micron Technology, which had fallen due to concerns over reduced DRAM demand, managed to hold the $70 range with a 0.01% increase.

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