Wall Street Rises for the Fourth Consecutive Day

On Wall Street, stock indices rose for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, although trading volume was modest as the market will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving in the U.S., and will operate on a shortened schedule on Friday.

The Dow Jones increased by 0.67 percent, to 47,427 points, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.69 percent, to 6,812 points, and the Nasdaq index by 0.82 percent, to 23,214 points.

The increase in the index is attributed, among other factors, to the continued recovery of stock prices in technology companies, following last week’s sharp decline.

There were not many significant economic news yesterday, but the minutes from the last meeting of the leaders of the U.S. central bank were released, which did not significantly impact the market as many Fed officials have commented on the economic situation in the meantime.

These comments have reinforced investors’ belief that the Fed will indeed lower interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points this year, as it did in September and October.

Currently, the market estimates that there is about an 85 percent chance that the central bank will lower rates in December, while those odds were around 40 percent last week.

On Thursday, Wall Street will be closed for Thanksgiving, while trading will be shortened on Friday.

Investors will focus on news about sales in retail chains and online as the pre-holiday shopping season begins.

– In these days, before and after Thanksgiving, trading volume is usually modest, but there is somewhat more optimism regarding the retail sector. However, the greatest support for the market in recent days comes from the belief that the Fed will further lower rates in December –

– explains Chuck Carlson, director at Horizon Investment Services.

European stock prices also rose yesterday. The London FTSE index increased by 0.85 percent, to 9,691 points, while the Frankfurt DAX rose by 1.11 percent, to 23,726 points, and the Paris CAC by 0.88 percent, to 8,096 points.

Asian Markets Rise, Dollar Weakens

On Asian markets, stock prices rose on Thursday, while the value of the dollar against a basket of currencies fell for the second consecutive day as it becomes increasingly likely that the U.S. Fed will further lower interest rates in December.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks, excluding Japan, was up 0.4 percent around 7:00 AM, marking the fourth consecutive day of gains.

Stock prices in Australia, India, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan rose between 0.1 and 1.2 percent.

Thus, Asian markets are following yesterday’s rise on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index increased by 0.67 percent, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.69, and the Nasdaq index by 0.82 percent.

The increase in the index is mainly attributed to the continued recovery of stock prices in technology companies, following last week’s sharp decline.

There were not many significant economic news yesterday, but the minutes from the last meeting of the leaders of the U.S. central bank were released, which did not significantly impact the market as many Fed officials have commented on the economic situation in the meantime.

These comments have reinforced investors’ belief that the Fed will indeed lower interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points this year, as it did in September and October.

Currently, the market estimates that there is about an 85 percent chance that the central bank will lower rates in December, while those odds were around 40 percent last week.