US stock markets close in positive territory: Bargain hunters drive Nasdaq recovery

Already at midday in New York, the Dow Jones Index had gained 0.2 percent to 52,305 points, the Nasdaq Composite 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 up to 1.4 percent. The S&P 500 was up 0.6 percent at midday. It was the final trading day of the first half of the year, which for the S&P 500 means a gain of 9.6 percent over the half-year. The broad-based S&P 500 also experienced the best quarter in six years, which is likewise attributable primarily to the tech stocks contained in this index.

Solar stocks on the rise

A driver cited was a report from the news agency Reuters, according to which an import ban is being prepared in the United States, primarily targeting Chinese inverters. Concerns prevail that the country could use these products to disrupt power supply. As a result, First Solar, Nextpower, SolarEdge and Fluence Energy gained between roughly 1.4 and 7.7 percent.

Semiconductors and AI stocks drive the rally

In the semiconductor segment, Applied Materials and Lam Research benefited, climbing to record highs amid the renewed enthusiasm for AI stocks. Nvidia by 2.6 percent. This made the AI chipmaker the third strongest performer in the Dow. Second place went to Apple stock with a plus of 2.7 percent. Arm Holdings recovered by 3.2 percent. Additionally, Broadcom rose 1.0 percent, Intel 6.6 percent, Nvidia 1.7 percent, Micron 0.7 percent and Marvell 6.7 percent. AMD climbed 6.9 percent and Arm 4.9 percent.

Apple in the focus of competition authorities and courts

Apple gained 2.5 percent, even though the British competition authority announced measures against restrictions imposed by Apple and Google in payment processing. The backdrop also includes the fact that the Supreme Court wants to review an appeal that contests a ruling for contempt of court in the long-running antitrust dispute with Fortnite developer Epic Games. The justices want to review the rulings of the lower courts. According to those rulings, the iPhone maker had willfully violated a 2021 decision concerning developer fees for its lucrative App Store.

Sandisk, which had reached a record high only last week and then pulled back, also gained almost 11 percent. This brings the record high back within reach. At the industrial gases group Air Products, the exit from an alternative energy project drove a gain of 8.0 percent.

Losers: Concentrix and Nike

Among the losers, Concentrix stood out with a minus of 16.4 percent, after the customer experience platform provider missed expectations for second-quarter earnings and issued a weak outlook. Nike shares declined 0.7 percent ahead of the release of fourth-quarter results scheduled for after the close. Analysts at Jefferies noted that Nike might be cautious with its guidance in order to give the new chief financial officer room to set long-term targets at an investor day.

Alphabet stock, the parent company of Google, rose 0.9 percent, thereby defending the strong gains of the previous day after the stock had been added to the Dow Jones Index. AeroVironment gained almost 16 percent following surprisingly good quarterly results from the drone and defense technology provider. GE Vernova added 3.4 percent; the company is seen as a beneficiary of demand for data centers.

Economic data and commodities

Among the economic data, the purchasing managers' index for the Chicago region fell noticeably compared to the previous month, but performed better than estimated and remained clearly in expansion territory. The number of job openings in the United States (JOLTS) rose slightly in May.

In the commodity markets, WTI/Nymex crude oil was quoted at $69.81, a minus of 1.3 percent, while Brent/ICE stood at $73.05, 0.1 percent lower. Brent crude was quoted at roughly $73 per barrel, around ten dollars higher than before the outbreak of the war. Warren Patterson, oil expert at ING, said: „Wir glauben, dass der Markt nach unten übertrieben hat. Unsere Annahme ist, dass sich die Ölflüsse erst gegen Ende des dritten Quartals dem Vorkriegsniveau annähern werden, während das derzeitige Preisniveau eine Rückkehr zur Normalität bis Ende Juli impliziert."

Planned direct talks between the US and Iran did not take place on the reporting day after a renewed escalation of violence around the Strait of Hormuz. Meetings are now planned with mediators on the US side. The gold price rose by $13 to $4,029.74 per ounce, silver traded at $59.59 with a gain of 2.2 percent, and platinum was quoted at $1,554.45 with a minus of 1.3 percent. Analysts at MUFG expect gold to remain under pressure in the near term: „Gold dürfte weiterhin kurzfristig unter Druck bleiben, weil nachgebende Energiepreise, ein widerstandsfähiger Dollar und die Erwartung längerfristig höherer Zinsen die Nachfrage nach zinslosen sicheren Häfen weiter reduzieren".

Outlook: Interest rates, geopolitics and corporate earnings

The yield on ten-year US Treasuries rose by 3 basis points to 4.40 percent. The euro stood at $1.1415, and Bitcoin traded at $58,367.68, a minus of 3.1 percent.

For June, the Dow Jones does post a gain of 2.5 percent. Over the course of the year so far, however, the best-known Wall Street index, with a gain of 9 percent, has not even risen half as strongly as the Nasdaq 100, which for the three months just ending means a gain of slightly more than 8 percent. Financial market analyst Kyle Rodda of the London fintech company Capital.com sees the further direction of the recovery tied to clear framework conditions: „Neben den geopolitischen Entwicklungen dürfte das vor allem vom US-Zinspfad und den Gewinnaussichten der Unternehmen abhängen".