New York Stock Market Rises on 'Apple Surpassing $3 Trillion'... Nasdaq Up 1.45%

S&P500 and Nasdaq Rise 1.23% and 1.45% Respectively
Highest Closing Levels Since April Last Year
Impact of Inflation Slowdown and Apple Market Cap Surpassing $3 Trillion

The New York stock market showed strength amid news of a slight slowdown in inflation and Apple’s market capitalization surpassing $3 trillion.

On the 30th (Eastern Time), at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,407.60, up 285.18 points (0.84%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index rose 53.94 points (1.23%) to 4,450.38, and the Nasdaq index gained 196.59 points (1.45%) to close at 13,787.92.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices reached their highest closing levels since April of last year. The Dow Jones index hit its highest level since the 15th of this month. In the first half of the year alone, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices rose approximately 16% and 32%, respectively. These are the largest gains since the first half of 2019 and 1983, respectively. The Dow Jones index increased about 4% during the same period.

A trader is working at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Investors focused on the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, and the news of Apple’s market capitalization surpassing $3 trillion. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the core PCE price index, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 4.6% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month in May. This represents a 0.1 percentage point slowdown from April’s 4.7% year-over-year increase and 0.4% month-over-month rise. Compared to market expectations compiled by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the year-over-year figure was 0.1 percentage points lower, while the month-over-month figure met expectations.

The May PCE price index, including energy and food prices, rose 0.1% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year. This is a significant slowdown compared to April’s 0.4% monthly increase and 4.3% annual rise. Although core inflation remains at a relatively high level, headline inflation is rapidly easing due to falling energy prices.

The Federal Reserve is expected to continue its rate hike policy by raising the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points at each of its two meetings this year. The interest rate futures market estimates an 84.3% probability that the Fed will raise the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points at the July meeting.

Apple, the company with the largest market capitalization, surpassed $3 trillion for the first time based on closing prices. Apple’s stock closed at $193.97, up 2.31% for the day. Its market capitalization was calculated at $3.051 trillion. Although Apple’s market cap surpassed $3 trillion intraday in January 2022, this is the first time it has closed above that level.

A trader is working at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Nvidia’s stock also rose more than 3% on the day. Nvidia’s market capitalization recently surpassed $1 trillion. Nvidia’s stock price has increased more than 190% this year. On the same day, Daiwa Securities upgraded its investment rating on Nvidia from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’ and raised the target price from $408 to $475, about 16% higher than the current level.

Among the S&P 500 stocks hitting 52-week highs on the day, 67 companies were recorded, with about 39% related to industrials, 18% financials, 15% technology, 13% healthcare, 7% consumer discretionary, 6% materials, and 2% consumer staples. This suggests that the rally is expanding beyond technology stocks amid expectations of a soft economic landing.

Consumer sentiment is also improving amid price stability and positive economic indicators. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for June was finalized at 64.4, higher than the previous month’s 59.2 and above the preliminary estimate of 63.9. The June consumer expectations index, which reflects future economic outlook, rose to 61.5 from 55.4 in the previous month, and the current economic conditions index increased to 69 from 64.9.

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