Higher energy prices helped the two largest US oil companies post record profits in the second quarter. It also sent the new quarterly figures Amazon and Apple to the exchange.
On the last trading day of the week, the three major New York indices closed on top:
- The Dow Jones rose 1.0 percent
- The Nasdaq rose 1.8 percent
- Standard & Poor’s 500, up 1.4 percent
This gives the broad S&P 500 Index an overall increase of more than nine percent in July. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose more than 12 percent in July, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the month nearly seven percent higher than it initially did.
July was the best month for the S&P 500 since November 2020.
Before the stock market opened, new inflation figures from the US showed prices were 6.8 percent higher in June of this year than they were in June last year. Food prices rose by 11.2 percent in June, while energy prices rose by as much as 43.5 percent.
The US central bank has repeatedly taken aggressive measures in the face of rising inflation. At Wednesday’s interest rate meeting, the Fed raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points for the second time. Sustained inflation may convince the central bank to raise interest rates further.
Oil giants broke records
The two largest US oil companies, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, announced new accounts for the second quarter of this year before the exchange opened. There, the two companies crushed analyst expectations with record results.
Chevron had its best quarter ever, with earnings per share nearly 20 percent higher than analysts had expected. In total, the profit amounted to 11.6 billion dollars.
On Friday, Chevron stock rose 9.0 percent.
On the other hand, Exxon Mobil earned $4.14 per share, while analysts had expected $3.98 per share.
Exxon Mobil shares rose 4.6 percent during the trading session on Friday.
Amazon rose sharply after the numbers were released
Online shopping giant Amazon suffered a loss in the second quarter, according to new accounting figures released after the stock exchange closed yesterday. Investors are still looking beyond the loss and sent Amazon direct on Friday.
During the day, Amazon shares jumped 10.4 percent.
Overall, Amazon shares are up 27 percent this month, the best month for the stock since October 2009.
The jump may have come from the company’s turnover of $121.2 billion. It was much better than analysts had previously feared.
Apple blamed the strong dollar for the Mac’s decline
After the stock market closed Thursday night, Apple released a new quarterly report. It showed sales of $83 billion in the second quarter, up 2 percent from the same period last year. It was better than analysts had previously expected.
Apple shares rose a total of 3.3 percent on Friday.
On the other hand, sales of Apple computers and tablets, Macs, and iPads fell from previous highs. The Apple chief himself blamed, among other things, the strong dollar for the drop in sales.
Read also
The United States is in recession
“Explorer. Unapologetic entrepreneur. Alcohol fanatic. Certified writer. Wannabe tv evangelist. Twitter fanatic. Student. Web scholar. Travel buff.”
