Wall Street starts optimistically
“Barbie” success boosts Mattel shares
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The PR strategy is working: “Barbie” becomes the most successful cinema release of this year – and boosts the prices of Mattel and Warner Bros. Meanwhile, the prospect of strong tech balance sheets is giving the Dow a boost. But experts urge caution.
Hopes for strong balance sheets from large technology companies have brightened the mood on Wall Street at the start of the week. The US leading index Dow Jones closed 0.5 percent higher at 35,411 points. The technology-heavy one Nasdaq moved up 0.2 percent to 14,058 points and the broad S&P 500 0.4 percent to 4,554 jobs.
The fire in an electric truck from the US manufacturer sent the individual values down Nicholas the stock is on the decline. The securities of the struggling electric truck manufacturer lost 4.8 percent. The success of the film “Barbie” gave the Mattel-Stock buoyancy. The titles of the manufacturer of the best-selling doll rose by 1.8 percent. The producer’s papers Warner Bros advanced by a good one percent. The film grossed $155 million in its first weekend in the United States. This made it the most successful cinema release of 2023.
The business figures from software developer Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet are expected on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Facebook mother Meta opens her books. “Reporting season is currently underway in the US technology sector and with many stocks soaring, investors are looking for reasons to remain optimistic,” said Konstantin Oldenburger, analyst at broker CMC Markets. But he urged caution. “Since all of these stocks have posted outstanding price gains since the beginning of the year, even small disappointments in numbers and outlook could trigger increased profit-taking.”
The interest rate decision is imminent
Investors are also eagerly awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday. The markets have prepared for an interest rate increase of a quarter of a percentage point. “We will know more on Wednesday evening how Fed Chairman Powell explains this and whether the July interest rate increase will be the last in this cycle,” said Jürgen Molnar, strategist at broker RoboMarkets. However, several analysts urged caution. “Policymakers will proceed with extreme caution, even if the data over the last month or two has given them great encouragement,” said Craig Erlam of trading house Oanda.
Oil prices trended upwards again. The North Sea variety Brent and the light US variety WTI climbed by a good two percent each to 82.88 and 78.89 dollars per barrel (159 liters). They continued the increase at the end of last week and reached their highest level in three months. “There have been a number of factors that have contributed to recent gains – including Saudi Arabia’s production cut, Russian export reductions and economic data,” Erlam said.
“It will be interesting to see how Brent reacts in the area of around $82.50-$83.50.” Although the variety has not been traded at these levels for almost three months, it has not significantly broken through the 200-day average since the summer of 2022.
