AUG 13 — The Dow and the S&P 500 opened at record highs today, boosted by Walt Disney and tech-related shares, while signs of cooling inflation and a strong recovery in corporate earnings put the indexes on track for a second straight weekly gain.
A stellar earnings season, improving economic data and the Senate’s passage of a large infrastructure bill have all reinforced investors’ belief in the economic recovery, pushing US stocks to all-time highs in the past few sessions. “High inflation is not always a bad thing if it’s accompanied by strong economic growth and right now it is just indicative that the economy is doing very well.”
The Dow and S&P briefly eased from record highs after a survey showed US consumer sentiment dropped sharply in early August to a decade-low as Americans gave faltering outlooks on everything from personal finances to inflation and employment. Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc gained 1.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, after the US Food and Drug Administration authorised a booster dose of their Covid-19 vaccines for people with compromised immune systems.