Major US stock indexes finished trading above the zero mark

Major US stock indices rose slightly on the first trading day of the second half of the year, helped by the rise in price of technology sector shares, and favorable statistics for the US.

The seasonally adjusted PMI in the industry from IHS Markit was 55.4 in June against 56.4 in May. The latter value was higher than the preliminary indicator of 54.6 and finished the strongest quarter since the third quarter of 2014. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 54.6 points. The drop in the index was due to the slowest growth in production and new orders since November. Meanwhile, purchase prices have risen due to tariffs, and delivery times have increased.

At the same time, the report published by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that activity in the US manufacturing sector increased in June, while economists predicted a slight decrease. The PMI index for the manufacturing sector grew in June to 60.2 points against 58.7 points in May. Analysts had expected that the figure would drop to 58.0 points.

Construction costs in the US increased as a result of May against the background of increased investment in private and public construction projects, while the figure for the previous month was revised downward. The Ministry of Trade reported that construction costs increased by 0.4% in May. Data for April were revised to show that construction costs increased by 0.9% instead of the previously announced increase of 1.8%. Economists predicted that construction costs in May will grow by 0.5%. Meanwhile, in annual terms, construction costs jumped 4.5%.

Most components of DOW finished trading in the red (18 out of 30). Outsider were shares of General Electric Company (GE, -2.18%). The leader of growth was shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT, + 1.10%).

S & P sectors demonstrated mixed dynamics. The largest decline was in the commodity sector (-1.4%). The technological sector grew most (+ 0.5%).

At closing:

Dow 24,305.37 +33.96 +0.14%

S&P 500 2,726.56 +8.19 +0.30%

Nasdaq 100 7,567.69 +57.38 +0.76%