US indices recorded collective gains when they closed the trading session yesterday, Wednesday, March 19th, with the S&P 500 index regaining 4,000 levels, its highest level since March 6th, amid anticipation in the markets for US inflation figures represented by the consumer spending index tomorrow, Friday.
With the calming of market fears of the banking sector during the session, the technology sector topped the indices gains during the session, up by 2.1%, after the gains of Mita by 2.33% and Amazon by 3.1%.
In terms of economic data, the pending home sales index issued by the National Association of Realtors increased by 0.8% in February, on an annual basis, compared to 8.1% in March, while expectations were for a decrease of -2.9%.
In terms of stock movement, Intel’s stock rose by 7% during yesterday’s session, Wednesday, after positive statements by officials of the American technology company that the global demand for computing continues to accelerate.
On the other hand, the Electronic Arts company EA, which specializes in American video games, announced that it will lay off 6% of its employees to reduce costs.
Tomorrow, Friday, the markets will anticipate inflation figures for consumer spending, which is the Fed’s favorite indicator for measuring inflation, as expectations indicate that the index will decline to 0.4% from 0.6% in February on a monthly basis, and to decline to 5.3% on an annual basis from 5.4%, and that the main index will decline to 4.4% from 4.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) closed with gains of about (323 points) when closing at levels of 32,717, an increase of about 1.00%, while the S&P (S&P500) index recorded increases of about 1.42% when closing at levels of 4,027, while the NASDAQ index recorded gains by 1.79% when closing at 11,926 levels.