US Stocks Modestly Beat Expectations

This Friday’s trading session showed a better-than-expected result for various US stocks and indexes. Despite worries about the fast-spreading delta variant of COVID-19, markets seem to be showing some recovery. On the lighter side of things, the driving force behind the stock growth appears to be encouraging sales data.

The retail sale data showed a significant rise when compared to expert expectations. While many expected June to fall by 0.4% when compared to May, it actually had the opposite trajectory. During June, sales rose 0.6% against the month before it. That’s showing investors confirmation that supply shortages might be nearing their end. Also, if you exclude the somewhat struggling automobile industry, you get a month-on-month sales jump of 1.3%.

As a response to this positive market news, US indexes reacted with across-the-board growth in value. As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 55 points, translating to a 0.2% rise for the index. The  Nasdaq Composite showed us an even more significant growth of about 0.3% for the day. Lastly, the final major index, the S&P 500, was nearly identical to the first one we mentioned, rising about 0.2%.

There’s more room for optimism in lessening the effect COVID-19 has on the stock market. Namely, US President Joseph Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting. In the meeting, they discussed potential plans for economic recovery as the pandemic dies down. However, there are still worries about the pandemic, as Los Angeles’ biggest county returned indoor mask mandates, even for the vaccinated.

As for stock indexes around the world, they showed somewhat mixed reactions. Asia had a bad day, with Nikkei 225 dropping 0.9% and CSI 300 ending the day 1.1% down. In Europe, indexes were slightly higher, with the FTSE 100 showing the most significant growth.