ASX climbs after Wall Street rebounds; Lendlease surges

On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent and rebounded from its losses from the prior two days. It eked out a tiny gain for the week, enough to extend its weekly winning streak to five, and is sitting just below its record set on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones rose less than 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.1 per cent, and topped its all-time high set earlier this week.

Deckers Outdoor jumped 14.2 per cent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. The company behind the Hoka, Ugg and Teva brands also gave a forecast for revenue this upcoming fiscal year that was in line with analysts’ expectations.

Even though data on the overall, or macro, economy has been showing continued strength for spending by US households, the numbers underneath the surface may not be as encouraging.

The market got a bit of a boost Friday from a report showing overall sentiment among US consumers weakened by less in May than preliminary data had suggested. Perhaps more importantly, the report from the University of Michigan also said US consumers’ expectations for inflation in the coming year rose by less in May than earlier feared.

That could help stave off a vicious cycle where high expectations for inflation among US households drive them to behave in ways that only make inflation worse.

Worries about stubbornly high inflation were behind this week’s rocky trading, after indexes set records recently. The weakness began after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday released the minutes from its last policy meeting. It showed some officials talking about the possibility of raising rates if inflation worsens.

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This week’s bumpiness for stocks came despite another blowout profit report from Nvidia, which has rocketed to become one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks amid a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Fervour around AI had pushed some stocks to heights that critics called overdone, but Nvidia’s eye-popping growth and forecasts for more suggest it could keep going.

Nvidia rose another 2.6 per cent Friday, making it the biggest single force pushing the S&P 500 upward.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Workday fell 15.3 per cent despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which helps businesses manage their people and money, gave a forecast for upcoming subscription revenue that fell a bit short of Wall Street’s estimates

With AP

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