In the early morning of the 21st Beijing time, US stocks maintained a rising trend late Thursday, led by the technology sector. Investors continue to pay attention to inflation and its impact on the Fed's current loose monetary policy. The minutes of yesterday's Fed meeting hinted at a possible tightening of monetary policy. The data for unemployment benefits in the United States reached its lowest level since the outbreak last week. The Philadelphia Fed survey index confirms once again the rise in inflationary pressures in the United States.
The Dow rose 232.99 points, or 0.69%, to 34129.03; the Nasdaq rose 225.82 points, or 1.70%, to 13525.56; and the S & P 500 rose 47.17 points, or 1.15%, to 4162.85.
Better-than-expected data on initial jobless claims last week boosted sentiment and helped major stock indexes rebound after three consecutive days of declines. Technology stocks led the way.
"many participants believe that if economic conditions continue to improve rapidly, it may be appropriate to start discussing plans to adjust the pace of asset purchases at some point in future meetings," according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) April meeting released on Wednesday. Over the past year, the Fed has stuck to its aggressive plan to buy $120 billion of assets a month.
This argument alarmed investors and pushed up Treasury yields. Investors worry that a rapid economic recovery after the epidemic could lead to a sustained rise in inflation and force the Fed to withdraw its supportive monetary policy during the crisis.
JPMorgan Chase"I don't think investors should be surprised," said Stephanie Roth, an economist at private bank capital markets.
"from an economic and market point of view, our recovery is very strong," she said. Now the economic recovery and growth are at their peak and are about to transition to the middle stage of the economic cycle. This often leads to market volatility and changes to the surface. "
In the just-announced financial results, P & G, Kellogg, TargetAnd Home Depot.Retailers and other retailers have mentioned that there is a lot of upward pressure on prices this year, with consumer and business demand far exceeding supply as the economy resumes and social quarantines are lifted.
"We expect strong economic growth this year, but the focus now should be on risks-inflation-related risks have clearly risen a lot," Roth warned. We will also pay attention to what the Fed will do, and then there will be concerns about the outbreak of COVID-19. "
"at present, everything has been perfectly priced in the stock market," she said. But we should be vigilant and keep an eye on the risks that may arise, which is what the market is beginning to notice. "
During the COVID-19 epidemic, the Fed bought a lot of bonds and kept interest rates close to zero for more than a year, helping to support the economic recovery and asset prices.
According to the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting released on Wednesday, FOMC members "generally point out that the U.S. economy is far from meeting the committee's maximum employment and price stability goals."
The number of U.S. jobless claims fell to its lowest level since the outbreak last week, according to economic data on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Fed survey index showed that the price index reached its highest level in 40 years, once again confirming the rise in inflationary pressures in the United States.
The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States last week fell to its lowest level since the outbreak.
Last week, the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits in US states fell to the lowest level since the pandemic, suggesting that the job market is steadily improving as the remaining anti-epidemic restrictions are phased out.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits under the regular state unemployment benefit plan fell by 34000 to 444000 in the week ended May 15, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The median forecast by economists is 450000. The previous week's figure was revised to 478000.
The decline in first-time claims for unemployment benefits suggests that the labour market continues to thaw as more Americans are vaccinated and return to work. Nevertheless, the figure is still much higher than it was before the outbreak, suggesting that the job market is still a long way from a full recovery.
During the outbreak, due to the backlog of applications, fraud and new welfare plans and other factors, the number of first-time applications for unemployment benefits has been unstable. In addition, more than 20 states recently announced plans to withdraw from federal unemployment benefits amid discussions about whether generous government aid makes it harder for employers to hire.
New evidence of US inflation the Philadelphia Fed survey shows that the price index is the highest in 40 years.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported on Thursday that inflationary pressures are intensifying as companies plan to raise product prices and new employee capital.
The Philadelphia Fed's latest manufacturing survey shows that rising input costs for producers pushed the price index to its highest level in 40 years in May.
Supply chain bottlenecks, wage pressures and soaring material costs are testing profit margins and prompting companies to raise product prices. A special problem in the survey shows that companies plan to raise prices by 5% next year, up from the 3% forecast in February, and people are worried about inflation in the economy as a whole.
The data also showed that the price index paid this month soared to its highest level since March 1980. Nearly 77% of companies reported an increase in input costs and zero reported a decline in costs.
In addition, the company's survey shows that companies expect salaries to rise by 4% next year, up from the median forecast of 3% in February, reflecting that inflation is not just a temporary upward pressure on prices caused by supply chain challenges, as the Fed says.
As a result of continuing capacity constraints, the number of outstanding orders surged to the highest level since 1973, highlighting the impact of bottlenecks and shortages on the manufacturing recovery.
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