U.S. Stocks Surge, but Dow Industrials and S&P 500 Fall for the Quarter
Investors show willingness to buy stocks that have fallen sharply.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 250 points Thursday as investors sought to take advantage of depressed valuations among some of the market’s most sought-after technology stocks.
Investors bought up shares of companies including Facebook, Google parent Alphabet, Nvidia and Amazon.com, among others, on the final trading day of the quarter ahead of the Good Friday holiday.
The stock index of the largest European enterprises Stoxx Europe 600 grew by 0.3%, in particular thanks to the automobile sector. US indices S & P 500 and Nasdaq increased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively.
According to forecasts, taking into account the current trends, Stoxx Europe 600 will fall by 5% at the end of the quarter, Nikkei - by 7.1%. The indices of Nasdaq, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Italian FTSE MIB will show slight growth in the quarter.
After a dizzying growth in January 2018, the stock market has been volatile over the past 2 months amid expectations of a rise in interest rates and trade conflicts between the US and China.
Experts point to the positive factors that still affect the stock market - this is quite high consumer demand, profit growth due to tax cuts, low inflation and low interest rates.
The Japanese stock index Nikkei rose on Thursday by 0.6% due to the fall in the value of the yen on the eve.
The Shanghai stock market rose by 1.2% amid news about the plans of the Chinese government to cut taxes.
The Australian stock index ASX 200 fell by 0.5% due to the fall in the price of oil.
/Source: The Wall Street Journal/
April 2, 2018