© Reuters.
Investing.com — U.S. stocks are rising after strong economic data and a surge in megacaps overcame fears about a possible recession ahead.
At 13:40 ET (17:40 GMT) the was up 208 points or 0.6%, while the rose 1.1% and the rose 1.6%.
It’s the Dow’s first winning session after a six-day losing streak, though Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:) shares fell 9.4% after the drugstore retailer cut its fiscal year profit outlook because demand for COVID vaccines and tests is waning.
Optimism boosted by better than expected economic data
rose 1.7% in May, well more than the expected 1% drop. The data is a closely monitored measure of business spending. rose 0.6%, also beating expectations.
was also a stronger than expected 109.7. Analysts had expected a reading of 104. And soared past forecasts, with an annualized 763,000 versus expectations of 675,000.
Stocks stalled on Monday as fears about a recession crept higher. The Federal Reserve paused on interest rate hikes at its meeting this month but signaled another rate hike is possible, perhaps as early as July, as it continues to battle .
Fed watches data to make its next move
Investors are worried that more rate hikes could eventually tip the economy into a recession, though Wall Street economists have lowered their expectations in recent weeks. The Fed says it has been making its decisions on data, and one big report this week will be the inflation numbers for May. is expected to rise 4.6%.
Futures traders see a greater than 75% probability that the another quarter of a percentage point in July.
Investors will hear more from top policymakers this week when they meet in Portugal at the European Central Bank Forum, including a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
June is quickly coming to an end this week, and the second quarter with it, with the three major indexes poised to record gains for the period.
Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy
Electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ:) shares sank 25% as it sought bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale. It couldn’t resolve a dispute over an investment from Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn (TW:).
Shares of cloud analytics company Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:) rose 4.6% on an arrangement with Nvidia (NASDAQ:) allowing customers to build artificial intelligence models using their own data.
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