U.S. Stocks Reach Record Levels Ignoring Trump’s Assassination Attempt: U.S. stocks surged to all-time highs as market volatility expectations
failed after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, which boosted his chances of reaching the White House.
Trump has chosen Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate for the presidential election.
Contents
A New Generation of Republicans
Performance of Major Companies
Greater Focus on Inflation Data
Impact of the Assassination Attempt on Winning Chances
Republican National Convention
Jerome Powell’s Statements
Traders also closely monitored statements from Jerome Powell,
who noted that recent inflation readings had bolstered confidence and that the economy was performing “extremely well.”
He also pointed out that the labor market was heading towards better balance and that
the time lag between adopting monetary policy and its effects meant that the Fed could intervene before inflation reached 2%.
The Fed Chairman also clearly refused to signal any timing for interest rate cuts, stating that the policy was tight “but not overly so.”
A New Generation of Republicans
Vance, 39, is nearly four decades younger than the 78-year-old Trump.
He is a fresh voice contributing to the Republicans’ efforts and enhancing their appeal to the working class,
which previously formed a core base for the Democratic Party in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Major Stock Indices Rise
All major stock indices rose, with the S&P 500 achieving its 38th record high this year.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp’s stock jumped by 30%.
The candidate’s chances boosted the positions of oil producers, weapons manufacturers, and private prisons.
His support for cryptocurrencies raised the value of Bitcoin and companies in the industry.
Tesla’s stock soared as Elon Musk endorsed Trump.
Solar energy and marijuana company stocks fell as Democrats became more supportive of these sectors.
U.S. Bonds Rise
Yields on 30-year U.S. bonds rose above those of 2-year bonds for the first time since January,
betting that Trump would adopt an expansionary fiscal policy if he won the U.S. presidential election in November. The dollar rose slightly.
Analysts Reactions
John Stoltzfus from Oppenheimer Asset Management said,
“We were shocked by the assassination attempt on former President Trump,
but we believe the markets will absorb the news quickly and without much fuss.
Shocking events do not deter investors; we expect them to remain focused on economic outcomes and earnings reports.”
Performance of Major Companies
The S&P 500 index rose to around 5630 points. The performance of major companies varied.
Apple shares peaked after Morgan Stanley classified it as the top pick.
Nvidia shares declined. The Russell 2000 index of small companies rose by 2%.
Goldman Sachs shares rose as earnings exceeded plans to reduce the pace of share buybacks.
Macy’s Inc. shares fell after the company ended acquisition talks.
Neil Dutta’s Comments
Neil Dutta from Renaissance Macro Research said,
“The only reason for not cutting interest rates in July is the illogical mindset followed by institutions when they say:
‘Well, we need to prepare the markets for that.’ I don’t understand it, but that is the case.”
Greater Focus on Inflation Data
Mark McCormick at TD Securities believes the markets are “less concerned with the elections”
and more eager to enjoy the decline in U.S. data surprises, especially the recent Consumer Price Index reading.
Electoral Impacts
Peter Boockvar from The Boock Report said, “Everyone is trading on their best Trump-related strategies—
but I think we’ve seen over the past century that stock market movements are more random than a president can impose.”
Impact of the Assassination Attempt on Winning Chances
According to PredictIt data, the chances of the potential Republican candidate,
who was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, winning a second term has increased following the attack.
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, held from Monday to Thursday,
marked the culmination of Trump’s control over the party. According to a post on the social media site X,
the former U.S. president told Fox News that he would announce his vice-presidential pick today.
U.S. Stocks Reach Record Levels Ignoring Trump’s Assassination Attempt