A roundup of Thursday’s stock market results from across the Americas
🌎 Peru leads in LatAm, Colombia’s Colcap closes lower:
The Lima Stock Exchange (SPBLPGPT) led the gains in Latin America on Thursday, climbing 0.61%, while Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) also gained, closing 0.13% higher, and Mexico’s S&P/BMV IPC (MEXBOL) closed with a moderate 0.09% advance.
On the Peruvian index the biggest gains were for mining companies Volcan (VOLCABC1), with shares up 5.26%), Buenaventura (BVN), up 4.84%, and Minsur (MINSURI1), which climbed 2.94%. Banking stocks also climbed, with BBVA (BBVAC1) up 0.58%, Credicorp (BAP) 0.39% and Intercorp Financial Services (IFS) closing 0.22% higher.
In contrast, Colombia’s Colcap (COLCAP) slipped 0.74% after a run of gains, and Chile’s IPSA (IPSA) fell 0.12%.The biggest losses in Colombia were for Bancolombia (BCOLO), down 3.29%, and Grupo Aval (PFAVAL), whose shares dropped 2.12%.
In Mexico and Chile, positive inflation news emerged in May, with both countries showing a slowdown in the consumer price index in the fifth month of the year and in line with higher interest rates and lower inflationary pressures globally.
Central bankers in the region welcome these developments, amid future monetary policy normalization decisions to avoid additional pressure on economic growth.
🗽On Wall Street:
A rally in technology stocks resumed Thursday, pushing the S&P 500′s gains since an October low past 20%, the marker of a bull market.
A jump in jobless claims to the highest since October 2021 delivered a boost to the tech sector, which had been flagging under speculation the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. The jump in claims shows the labor market, while largely resilient, is starting to show signs of cooling.
“It’s still at pretty low levels in terms of initial claims. But maybe the fact that it’s perked up on a week-over-week basis gives the Fed a little bit more fodder to pause next week,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist of John Hancock Investment Management, in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York office.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3% as chipmakers including Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. were among the biggest gainers amid the frenzy in stocks linked to artificial intelligence. Adobe Inc. also gained 5% on plans for a new AI subscription with copyright services.
On the Nasdaq, shares of Sientra (SIEN) rose 82% in after hours trading, those of Braze Inc. (BRZE) 9.9% and Expensify Inc. (EXFY) 6.87%.
Investors are reassessing the trajectory of Fed policy after central banks in Australia and Canada this week unexpectedly raised rates. Traders had fully priced in another hike by July on Wednesday. However, Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha said market moves based on those central bank actions should fade.
“The Fed is the price-setter here, the others are the price-takers, and we should not confuse the two,” Guha said. “They are raising rates in part because they think the Fed will hike once more and if they fail to match this they risk FX depreciation.”
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 ended little changed with SBB, the company at the center of Sweden’s property crisis, down 12%. The group, also known as Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB, was sent even further into junk territory by S&P Global Ratings, a move that will worsen the already severe funding crunch.
In currencies, the yen strengthened after Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter. The Turkish lira stabilized against the dollar after state lenders began supporting the currency again. And in commodities, oil traded in New York shed 2.1% to $71 a barrel.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%, the euro rose 0.8% to $1.0781, the British pound rose 1% to $1.2559 and the Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 138.89 per dollar.
🍝 For the dinner table debate:
A new analysis by consulting firm SmartAsset reveals the substantial savings potential for individuals or families who decide to leave New York to move to Miami, amid increased interest in the lifestyle of the city located in the state of Florida and the high cost of living that represents staying in the Big Apple.
According to the study, which reviews the savings in taxes and other expenses that living in New York, San Francisco and Chicago would represent for citizens with six-figure salaries if they settle in South Florida, it determines that those who earn US$650,000 per year in the United States have the possibility of saving approximately US$200,000 if they move to Miami due to lower taxes and a lower cost of living, among other advantages that this state located on the East Coast of the United States represents.
Meanwhile, people with a $650,000 salary who leave San Francisco for Miami could save up to $150,000, according to the study. The situation is different in Chicago, where savings would be around $10,500, due to the cheaper cost of living in Chicago, which neutralizes the tax advantages obtained in Florida.
SmartAsset looked at single taxpayers earning between $150,000 and $650,000 a year in New York, San Francisco and Chicago, and took into account federal, state and local tax data. They used the downtown areas of each city to account for housing expenses and cost of living.
Paola Villar S., a content producer at Bloomberg Línea, and Carly Wanna and Isabelle Lee of Bloomberg News, contributed to this story.