Outlook on US economy
February 9, 2023
Class CNBC Interview 2/10/22
February 10, 2023By Johann M Cherian and Ankika Biswas
Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
- Summary
- Companies
- Disney jumps on Q1 beat, layoff plans
- PepsiCo gains on quarterly profit, sales beat
- Salesforce rises on reports Third Point owns stake
- U.S. weekly jobless claims increase
- Indexes up: Dow 0.71%, S&P 0.73%, Nasdaq 1.11%
Feb 9 (Reuters) – U.S. main stock indexes rose on Thursday with Disney and Salesforce boosting the blue-chip Dow index, while data showing a rise in weekly jobless claims helped ease concerns about the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike path.
Disney Co (DIS.N) gained 3% to its highest level since late August after topping earnings estimates and announcing 7,000 job cuts as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs.
Fellow Dow component Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) added 3% as a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that hedge fund Third Point LLC owns a stake in the company.
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Investor sentiment was further boosted after data showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 last week, above a forecast of 190,000 claims.
The data comes on the heels of a strong January employment report that rattled markets last week.
“This is a definite sign that weakness in the labor market is coming despite the huge job number last week,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
“There are so many companies that are laying off people…if this trend continues and inflation continues to head downwards, then the Fed’s tune will change and a pause is not that far away.”
Traders are betting that the central bank will raise its benchmark rate to a peak of 5.1% in July, largely in line with the forecasts of Fed officials.
At 10:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 242.31 points, or 0.71%, at 34,191.32, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 29.97 points, or 0.73%, at 4,147.83, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) was up 131.96 points, or 1.11%, at 12,042.48.
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