The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged on Thursday following a strong US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report, causing rate markets to second-guess a potential Fed rate cut. Despite the positive GDP figures, a sharp decline in US Durable Goods Orders has kept risk appetite high as investors closely monitor economic data for clues on future rate cuts.
The second quarter GDP growth of 2.8% exceeded expectations, leading rate traders to scale back their hopes of a September rate cut. However, the underlying data reveals that government spending and healthcare costs were major contributors to the growth, raising concerns about the sustainability of the expansion.
On the other hand, Durable Goods Orders saw a significant contraction in June, signaling weakness in the manufacturing sector. Investors are now awaiting the upcoming Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) inflation data to gauge the overall health of the economy.
Key Takeaways from the Dow Jones Rally
The Dow Jones climbed over 200 points on Thursday, bouncing back from the previous day’s losses. Tech stocks like IBM and Salesforce led the gains, with IBM reporting strong AI bookings and CRM benefiting from the AI trend.
From a technical standpoint, the Dow Jones is attempting to reclaim lost ground but remains below its record highs. The index is trading above the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), indicating a positive long-term trend.
Overall, the market is cautiously optimistic as investors await further economic data to assess the likelihood of future rate cuts and inflation trends.
Economic Indicator
Gross Domestic Product Annualized
The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Annualized, released quarterly by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, measures the value of the final goods and services produced in the United States in a given period of time. Changes in GDP are the most popular indicator of the nation’s overall economic health. The data is expressed at an annualized rate, which means that the rate has been adjusted to reflect the amount GDP would have changed over a year’s time, had it continued to grow at that specific rate. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as bullish for the US Dollar (USD), while a low reading is seen as bearish.