Month after month, investors have been watching for signs that the economy is slowing down. The central banks have triggered a stock market crash this year by raising interest rates at breakneck speed to bring down inflation in the economy. On Thursday, most people thought that fresh inflation figures from the United States would show that prices had risen 7.9 percent over the past year, but the number that ticked in was 7.7 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. – The American economy has been threatened by high inflation and a central bank that has done everything to bring down inflation and thus raised interest rates sharply. Then comes lower inflation. Then you think that the central bank does not need to do so much, says chief strategist Erik Bruce at Nordea Markets. Chief strategist Erik Bruce in Nordea Markets. Photo: Moment Studio Sent share prices into the air Both higher interest rates and a downturn in the economy will affect how much companies earn, and therefore also how much dividend investors can expect if they buy shares. After the figures came from the US on Thursday afternoon, the stage was set for a stock market celebration that also infected Asia and Europe with optimism: The index of the US’s largest companies, the S & P 500, rose by 5.54 per cent, while the technology index Nasdaq Composite rose by 7.35 per cent. The rise in the USA is the strongest since 2020. On Friday morning, the Hong Kong stock exchange rose by 7.58 per cent, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 rose by 2.98 per cent. At 09.00, the Oslo Stock Exchange opened with an increase of 0.7 per cent. The figures came in before the stock exchanges closed in Europe yesterday, and parts of the rise already came yesterday. I think the interest rate peak is just around the corner. That the figures from the world’s largest economy also cause stock market celebrations in other parts of the world, Bruce explains like this: – First of all, it is good for the world that interest rates are rising less in the USA, and that the American economy is doing better. But then it is also the case that American stock exchanges are a driving force, he says. – But surely there will be more interest rate hikes even if price inflation seems to calm down a bit? – Yes, it certainly does. There has now been an argument over whether the central bank should raise the interest rate by 0.75 or 0.5 percentage points at the next meeting. This figure means that everyone is now convinced that it will be 0.5 percentage points, says Bruce, and continues: – It is still a lot, but it is less than last time when the interest rate increased by 0.75 percentage points in the USA. This indicates that the pace of interest rate increases is on the way, and that we are approaching the interest rate peak. The market likes it very much.
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Stock market celebration after price brake in the USA – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
