Wall Street rises with war and economic data on radar
Wall Street's main stock indices are trading higher this Tuesday (30).
On the geopolitical radar, United States envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will be in Doha to meet with Qatari mediators, but there will be no high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran, Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday (30), citing Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.
In addition, at least 40 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (29), according to data from the maritime intelligence company Kpler - a number still significantly lower than the average number of daily crossings recorded before the conflict with Iran began in February.
On the macroeconomic radar, U.S. job openings, an indicator of labor demand, increased by 9,000 to 7.594 million on the last day of May, the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Jolts report.
And consumer confidence in the US registered a slight increase in June.
At around 12:25 pm, Brasília time, the Dow Jones index gained 0.28%, to 52,326 points, the Nasdaq rose 1.05%, to 26,090 points, and the S&P 500 rose 0.52%, to 7,479 points.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are on track to post their best quarter in six years, while the Dow Jones is heading for its biggest quarterly gain since 2022.
At around the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, the American benchmark, for August, was down 1%, at US$70.04. Brent oil, the global benchmark, for September fell 0.42% to US$73.60 per barrel.
Some analysts are pinning hopes on the upcoming earnings season to boost stocks, especially after last week's sharp sell-off in semiconductor and technology stocks.
"The technology sector has been going through a dark period in June, but that could easily turn around as earnings season approaches," said Brian Levitt, chief global markets strategist at Invesco.
Others warn that any significant gains in the second half of the year will require a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war between the US and Iran.
*With information from Reuters
Why is the Strait of Hormuz so important to the world economy?
Source: CNN