On Thursday, stocks on Wall Street traded mixed and steadied after strong growth data while the tech sector is still out of favor.
The NASDAQ Composite slipped 60 points or 0.4%, the S&P 500 dropped 5 points or 0.2%, and the dow jones Industrial Average rose 10 points or 0.1%.
The prior session’s negative mood, which resulted in the tech-heavy indices closing down sharply, has been eased by the release of economic data indicating an interest rate cut by the Fed may be made as soon as September.
Gross domestic product in the U.S. grew by 2.8% in Q2, compared with forecasts of a growth of 2%, and improved from the 1.4% growth seen in the first quarter of the year.
The prices component in the release however fell from 3.1% in Q1 to 2.3%.
This is the type of easing of inflationary pressures that the Federal Reserve wants and comes before Friday’s PCE price index – which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
Another report showed durable goods orders in June dropped by 6.6%, versus expectations for an increase of 0.3%.
On Thursday, the quarterly earnings season continued apace.
American Airlines stock dropped 3% after the firm reduced its annual profit forecast due to uneven demand trends.
