Due to the continuation of good news from the business sector, optimism rises on the stock exchanges

On Wall Street, indices gained on Wednesday, with the technology Nasdaq reaching its highest level in the last three months, thanks to a series of good news from the business sector and positive macroeconomic indicators that eased investor concerns about inflation, rising interest rates, and a looming recession.

The Nasdaq index strengthened by 2.59 percent on Wednesday, to 12,668 points, while the Dow Jones rose by 1.29 percent, to 32,812 points, and the S&P 500 index increased by 1.56 percent, reaching 4,155 points.

The latest data indicated an increase in orders for the U.S. industry in July, along with a reduction in supply chain issues and a weakening of price pressures. This strengthened the belief among some investors that the economy is not in recession despite the decline in U.S. GDP over the past two quarters.

The latest series of business announcements, including from Paypal and CVS Health Corporation, also contributed to the positive sentiment among investors. All of this helped Wall Street recover after several days of losses due to concerns about high inflation, rising interest rates, declining economic activity, and geopolitical tensions.

– The earnings announcement season for the second quarter is underway, and in most cases, from the technology complex to consumer goods and industry, we are seeing better results than we feared, and that is enough for us so far – assessed Sahak Manuelian, director at the investment firm Wedbush Securities.

Paypal’s stock rose nearly 10 percent after the company raised its forecasts for this year; for the same reason, CVS Health’s pharmacy chain stock increased by 6.3 percent, while the stock prices of Apple and Amazon strengthened significantly, by nearly 4 percent, and Meta’s by 5.4 percent.

Yesterday’s rise on Wall Street also spurred growth in Asian markets. The major indices are thus on the path to recovery from losses in recent days caused by geopolitical  tensions around Taiwan, while oil prices are hovering below $100 per barrel, following a significant correction the day before.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan was up 0.65 percent this morning. The Tokyo Nikkei strengthened by 0.58 percent, while the Hong Kong stock index was up 1.37 percent, with its technology sub-index up by 2.3 percent. The biggest winner was the stock of the technology giant Alibaba, which rose by 4 percent, in anticipation that this Chinese e-commerce giant will report record revenues.

European stock exchanges also posted gains yesterday thanks to good news from the business sector, with the London FTSE index rising by 0.49 percent, to 7,445 points, the Frankfurt DAX by 1.03 percent, to 13,587 points, and the Paris CAC by 0.97 percent, to 6,472 points.