Big numbers showing how well companies are doing cheered up the stock market on Thursday. People thought the Federal Reserve could stop making corporate borrowing more expensive.
Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said some words that made people think they might not raise rates again. Fees are like a price for borrowing money. If they go up, it can make things difficult for businesses. So when people heard this news, they felt better about the stock market.
There are large companies that are growing rapidly, such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet and Tesla. They made more money and that’s why their stock prices went up. People who invest in these companies also make more money.
There are different groups of companies in the stock market. Some are about houses and buildings, and others are about things that people like to buy. All of these groups went up on Thursday.
People who trade stocks are guessing what the Federal Reserve will do next. They believe there is only a small chance of a rate hike in December. They also believe there is a small chance of a rate hike in January. They think there’s a good chance they won’t raise rates again.
Companies tell people how well they do talking about their money. A company called Qualcomm said it will make more money than people thought. Another company called PayPal said it will also make more money.
Starbucks, which makes coffee, did better than people thought in October. Another company called Palantir Technologies said it will make more money in the coming months.
But there were some companies that didn’t do so well. Moderna, which is making a vaccine for COVID-19, said it will sell less than it thought next year. But Eli Lilly, another company, did better than people thought this year.
Apple, the company that makes iPhones, will soon tell everyone how well it did.
The stock market is like a big game with numbers. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.02 points, which is a lot. The S&P 500 rose 51.87 points and the Nasdaq Composite rose 172.71 points.
There is a number that shows how scared people are in the stock market. It’s called the Cboe Volatility Index. On Thursday it went down a lot.
The US stock market has performed well this month. Last month was not so good because people were worried about interest rates and problems in the world.
The number of people without jobs increased slightly last week. This means that some people still find it difficult to find work.
We’ll know more about how many jobs there are on Friday. This will help us better understand what is happening with employment.
There were more companies that did well than those that did poorly on Thursday. This is a good sign for the stock market. The S&P index recorded more new highs than new lows. The Nasdaq also posted new highs.
Also read: Stock Market Update: Wall Street Eyes Fed Decision With Modest Gains