Global Stocks Gain After US Retail Sales Data
On Tuesday, global stock indexes were mostly higher after strong U.S. retail sales indicated the economy was resilient.
Tuesday’s data showed retail sales in June did not change from May’s reading that was higher than estimated initially.
According to CME’s FedWatch Tool, markets are still fully pricing in a rate cut of at least 0.25% by the Fed at its meeting in September.
MSCI’s global index was 1.12 points, or 0.14% higher at 829.85.
Comerica Bank’s chief economist, Bill Adams, said the economy was in good shape. Although there were indications of softness around the edges where consumers with moderate and low incomes were pulling back, openhanded spending by wealthy consumers was keeping the overall economy moving forward.
On Monday, Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair said that recent inflation data boosted policymaker confidence that price pressures were on a sustainable path down.
Investors were also still evaluating the effect of a potential Donald Trump victory in the presidential election after his attempted assassination on Saturday.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 27.23 points, or 0.15%, to 18,499.80, the S&P 500 gained 28.01 points, or 0.50%, to 5,659.23 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 592.93 points, or 1.47%, to 40,804.65.
The STOXX 600 pan-European index dropped 0.23%.