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Congress will hear Jerome Powell’s semiannual report on the status of the economy.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Graeme Jennings)
Stocks were higher on Wednesday, as markets hummed and hawed over inflation concerns ahead of two days of Congressional testimony from the Federal Reserve chair. Then, not long after the opening, the
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index that measures how well
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110 points, or 0.3 percent, while the S&amp
S&P 500 Index
The value of the dollar increased by 0.4 percent, while the value of the yen
The Nasdaq Composite Index
The stock price increased by 0.6 percent.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is poised to begin two days of testimony on Capitol Hill, where he will present Congress with his semiannual economic report. The Fed’s policy position is expected to be emphasized by the central banker. “Today, a group of non-economists will interrogate a non-economist on sophisticated economic issues,” said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. “The whole thing is going to devolve into a partisan war, which isn’t going to help markets.” Powell’s testimony comes as the consumer price index in the United States increased by 0.9 percent from May to June, reigniting fears about inflation. The CPI increased at the quickest monthly rate since 2008. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the producer-price index increased 7.3 percent year over year in June, exceeding expectations of 6.8 percent. “The US CPI released yesterday verifies everything you assumed about inflation before it was released,” Donovan remarked. “Either inflation isn’t a problem at all, or a Weimar-style hyperinflation is on the way—all you have to do is manipulate the numbers to suit your bias. A tiny number of prices increased dramatically, but certain portions of the index are seeing outright deflation.” Tokyo is the most populous city in Asia.
225 Nikkei
Hong Kong’s stock index fell 0.4 percent.
Seng Hang
decreased by 0.6 percent. The
Shanghai Composite (Shanghai Composite)
The price of the stock dropped by 1.1 percent. The
FTSE 100 is a stock market index that measures the performance of
In London, the pan was 0.2 percent lower.
-European
600 Stoxx
increased by a small amount The
CAC 40 (California Association of College
The stock market in Paris increased by 0.1 percent, while the stock market in Frankfurt increased by 0.1 percent.
DAX
0.1 percent was added The travel industry took a beating, with shares in airlines leading the way lower.
TUI,
The world’s largest tourism company, with hotels, planes, and cruises under its belt. TUI’s price has plummeted, while airline stocks have risen.
Air France-KLM is a Dutch airline.
Lufthansa,
Ryanair,
and
IAG
—the owner of British Airways—has plummeted, as have shares in the hotel behemoth.
The InterContinental Hotels Group is a collection of hotels owned by the InterContinental Hotel
Major British multinationals, which conduct business in dollars and are vulnerable to currency fluctuations, saw their stock prices fall sharply. Sterling gained more than 0.2 percent against the dollar after U.K. inflation statistics showed a rise in consumer prices and a relative fall in production prices.
Unilever,
Vodafone,
GlaxoSmithKline,
and
Tobacco from the United Kingdom and the United States
In London, they were among the losers.
Wells Fargo & Company
The shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (ticker: WFC) climbed 0.6 percent after the company reported a profit of $1.38 per share, topping projections of 98 cents per share, on revenue of $20.3 billion, which was higher than expectations of $17.8 billion.
Bank of America is a financial institution based in the United
The stock of Bank of America (BAC) fell 2.7 percent after the company reported a profit of 80 cents per share, topping projections of 77 cents per share, on sales of $21.6 billion, which fell short of expectations of $21.8 billion.
Citigroup
The stock rose 1.7 percent after the company reported a profit of $2.85 per share, topping predictions of $1.96 per share, on revenue of $17.5 billion, which was more than the $17.2 billion expected.
Delta Airlines is a commercial airline based in Atlanta, Georgia.
(DAL) stock fell 0.3 percent after the company reported a loss of $1.07 per share, lower than analysts’ forecasts of $1.38 per share, on sales of $7.1 billion, which were higher than predictions of $6.2 billion. Stocks in
Hugo Boss is a well-known fashion designer.
After the German luxury goods firm posted earnings before interest and taxes of €42 million ($49.5 million), above expectations of roughly €17 million, the stock climbed nearly 6%.
Barratt
One of the UK’s leading house developers said in a trading update that it anticipates full-year earnings before tax to be beyond the top end of the market’s estimates, causing the stock to rise 1%.
Peloton Interactive is a company that creates interactive content.
The stock of PTON fell 3.9 percent after Wedbush downgraded it from Outperform to Neutral. Jacob Sonenshine can be reached at jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com./n
