Volatile Stocks Rebound Ahead of Inflation Reports

Barry Adams
10 May, 2022
New York City

U.S. stock indexes closed higher in a lackluster trading ahead of inflation data. 

The consumer price index is expected to ease in the latest tomorrow and wholesale prices are expected to be stable at elevated levels on Thursday. 

The S&P 500 index increased 0.25% to 4,001,59   and the Nasdaq Composite index  gained 1% to 11,737.67.   

The indexes opened higher as bargain hunters returned seeking value in beaten down tech stocks but the sentiment faltered after one hour of trading.  

Market averages steadily declined for the next two hours and reached their lows at 12:30 p.m. on the worries that the inflation data may be worse than anticipated. 

Market sentiment reversed, lifting Indexes higher as the leading tech stocks sustained the advance. However, market jitters returned in the final thirty minutes of trading and traders stayed away from adding more positions ahead of economic reports tomorrow. 

Microsoft Corp gained 2.2% to $270, Meta Platforms gained 1.3% to $198.20, Apple added 1.5% to $154.89, and Alphabet gained 2% to $2,296. 

Amazon, Shopify, Zoom, Etsy, Wayfair, and other pandemic era darlings have nearly erased the gains of the last two years.  

In Europe, market indexes gained after buyers returned to add more stocks. 

The DAX index in Frankfurt gained 1.1%, the CAC-40 in Paris added 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4%. 

The indexes in Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden advanced today. 

For the year so far, the DAX is down 16%, the CAC 40 has fallen 15%, and the SMI index in Zurich has declined 11%. 

EssilorLuxottica dropped 5% to 144.10 euros on the worries that China lockdowns extension may impact sales of sunglasses. 

Airbus SE gained 0.9% after the aerospace company reported 98 new orders for aircrafts and delivered 48 in April. 

Swedish Mach AB soared 26% after the tobacco products maker confirmed that it has been approached by Philip Morris with a takeover offer.   

The Nikkei index in Tokyo edged down 0.6% and trimmed the day's loss after March household spending rose more than expected. 

Spending increased 4.1% from the previous month but declined 2.6% from a year ago to 307,261 yen, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said today.  

The average monthly household income in March rose 2.3% to 503,128 yen from a year ago. 

NTT Data Corp fell as much as 7% after the company announced restructuring. 

Japan Steel Works plunged 16% to 2,554 yen after the company reported that one of its units falsified product data for more than two decades. 

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 1.9% but the index in Shanghai jumped 1% after the Chinese government announced rent relief to small businesses struggling from a coronavirus outbreak. 

The two leading indexes in Mumbai ended lower after another day of choppy trading. 

The Sensex fell 0.2% or 105.82 to 54,346.85 and the Nifty index declined 0.4% or 61.80 to 16,240.05.