Copper and crude oil in demand again: FED statements calm Wall Street

In order to get the rising inflation under control, the US monetary authorities are considering another interest rate hike at the end of July - albeit not as much as some investors feared.

Copper and crude oil in demand again: FED statements calm Wall Street

In order to get the rising inflation under control, the US monetary authorities are considering another interest rate hike at the end of July - albeit not as much as some investors feared. The news provided relief on Wall Street. Among the day's winners are stocks from chipmakers like AMD and Intel.

Positive statements on US monetary policy give Wall Street a boost. In addition, hopes for a growth spurt in trading partner China and encouraging business figures from the electronics group Samsung brightened the mood.

The Dow Jones Industrial rose 1.12 percent to 31,384 points, making up for the losses it had accumulated since the end of June. The market-wide S

In the minutes of the most recent meeting published on Wednesday, the FED signaled a further interest rate hike by half a percentage point or three quarters of a percentage point for the end of July. This is a relief for investors, as some central bankers had raised the matter by a full percentage point, said stock trader Dennis Dick of brokerage house Bright Trading.

Should inflation data come down next week, the key rate is likely to be raised just 0.5 percentage point. So far, investors estimate the probability of this at just 17 percent. Most of them expect a step of 0.75 percentage points. In any case, the recent recession fears are exaggerated, said Kevin Thozet, investment advisor at asset manager Carmignac. Economic data suggested that US growth, while slowing, was not imminent.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg news agency reported that the Chinese government wants to allow local governments to issue additional bonds worth $220 billion to finance infrastructure projects. This buoyed copper, which recently fell to a year-and-a-half low. With a price increase of up to 5.6 percent to $7943 per ton, the industrial metal is heading for its biggest daily gain in a good nine years. China is the world's largest copper buyer.

Investors also stocked up on crude oil again. The US variety WTI rose in price by 5.4 percent to $103.84 a barrel. This helped oil companies such as Exxon and Chevron and the mining group Freeport-McMoRan to gain up to 6.4 percent.

Semiconductor stocks were among the favorites on the US stock market after the South Korean group Samsung announced its highest quarterly profit since 2018 thanks to a booming chip business. The stocks from AMD, Intel, Micron and NVidia advanced up to five percent. Virgin Galactic shares were also in demand, gaining 14 percent at times. The space company develops carrier aircraft for spaceships together with a subsidiary of the aircraft manufacturer Boeing. Boeing shares rose 3.5 percent.

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