- Stocks rose Thursday even as GDP data revealed the US economy contracted for the second straight quarter.
- The economic data added to the mounting fears of a recession and followed the Fed's rate hike Wednesday.
- Meta reported an earnings miss after-hours Wednesday, and its CEO warned of an economic slowdown.
US stocks edged up Thursday even as fresh GDP data showed the economy contracted for a second straight quarter, adding to recession concerns.
US output slumped 0.9% in the second quarter, following a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter. The new data comes one day after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, and signaled it would continue to move against inflation and cool the economy.
"[Jerome Powell] was repeatedly asked about whether the economy was already in a recession which he said he did not believe to be the case," Michael Reinking, New York Stock Exchange senior market strategist wrote in a Thursday note. "When talking about the expectation for the economy to slow down he did acknowledge that a path to a soft landing has narrowed."
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,038.22, up 0.36%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,281.49, up 0.26% (83.90 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 12,070.99, up 0.32%
Shares of Meta declined following its after-hours earnings miss Wednesday, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of an economic slowdown.
A recession could arrive by year-end as it looks more unlikely the Fed will achieve a soft landing, according to Bank of America. Analysts highlighted Powell's commitment to getting inflation back to the 2% range, as it will demand much more financial tightening.
Fears of a downturn in the oil market were eased by rising fuel demand, as US gasoline demand jumped 8.5% last week from the prior week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
Overseas, Russia has slowed gas flows to Europe to a trickle. Natural gas prices eased slightly Thursday, but have soared 145% since the start of June. Goldman Sachs analysts said the energy crisis could drag on until 2025.
Oil inched higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.67% to $98.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved higher 1.17% to $107.28 a barrel.
Gold edged higher 1.34% to $1,743.30 per ounce. The 10-year yield dipped 5.6 basis points to 2.676%.
Bitcoin rose 1.41% to $23,111.41.
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