Major US stock indexes finished trading in positive territory

Major US stock indexes rose slightly, the reason for which were "dovish" statements by the representative of the Fed Williams, after which sharply increased the likelihood of reducing the Fed rate by 50 basis points at the July meeting

Williams said that in an environment where the stakes were lower than they were in the past, the Central Bank must resist any signs of weakness quickly and aggressively. Futures on federal funds imply that traders now see a 59% chance of a cut in the Fed rate by 50 basis points at the July meeting, compared with 34% on Wednesday and earlier today.

Investors also analyzed mixed corporate reports and looked forward to new statements about trade negotiations between the US and China. Netflix shares fell by almost 11% after the company reported an unexpected loss of subscribers in the United States, combined with a slower-than-expected increase in the number of subscribers abroad. Against this background, investors ignored the fact that the declared quarterly profit of $ 0.60 per share exceeded the market forecast ($ 0.55 per share).

IBM's quarterly reports (IBM, + 4.35%) showed that its revenue declined for the fourth consecutive quarter. At the same time, the profit reached $ 3.17 per share, which turned out to be higher than the average forecast of analysts at $ 3.08. IBM net profit increased due to growth in the cloud business.

In the focus of investors were also statistical data on the United States. As the report of the Ministry of Labor showed, initial applications for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 216,000, taking into account seasonal fluctuations in the week ending July 13. The data for the previous week was revised to show 1,000 requests less received than previously reported. The increase in claims last week met the expectations of economists.

At the same time, the data published by the Conference Board showed that by the end of June, the leading indicators index (LEI) for the USA fell by 0.3% and amounted to 111.5 points (2016 = 100), after stabilizing in May and increasing by 0.1% in April . Experts predicted that the index will grow by 0.1%.

Most of the components of DOW recorded an increase (18 out of 30). The growth leader was IBM (IBM; + 4.45%). Outsiders were UnitedHealth Group (UNH; -2.46%).

Most sectors of the S & P finished trading in positive territory. The consumer goods sector grew the most (+ 0.7%). The largest decline was shown by the conglomerate sector (-0.3%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 27,221.58 +1.73 +0.01%

S & P 500 2,995.05 +10.63 +0.36%

Nasdaq 100 8,207.24 +22.04 +0.27%