US stock indices closed higher on Wednesday thanks to higher oil prices and positive economic data. The broad S&P 500 indicator added 0.85%, the industrial Dow Jones increased by 0.68%, and the technological NASDAQ - by 0.82%.
The largest increase in the value of shares is demonstrated by representatives of the energy, financial sectors, and technology companies. So, the securities of Chevron Corp. companies and Exxon Mobil rose by 2.1% and 3.4%, respectively, on the background of rising oil prices.
Microsoft Corp. shares we added 1.7% in the price due to information about an 11% increase in the amount of dividends and a new plan for the repurchase of securities.
Thanks to the news about a major deal to buy the company GreenSky Inc. valued at $ 2.2 billion by Goldman Sachs Group, GreenSky Inc. securities rose by 53%, and shares of The Goldman Sachs Group itself fell by 0.4%. The company also announced the change of the chief commercial director: Denis Coleman will soon take this place.
Shares of Philip Morris International gained 2% after the company announced a 4.2% increase in its dividend.
Against the background of a positive forecast of experts, the value of securities of Nucor Corp. companies increased by 3.2% and Steel Dynamics by 5%.
This month, the New York indicator of industrial activity rose to 34.3 points from the August level of 18.3 points, contrary to analysts' forecasts, who expected this indicator to decrease to 18 points, and not its growth.
According to statistics, in August, industrial production increased by 0.4% compared to the July level. It should be noted that the volume of production in July increased by 0.8%.
A slight decrease in the dynamics of production growth is caused by the slowdown and disruptions in oil production and refining, which arose due to Hurricane Ida. It led to a decline in the industry by 0.6%.
The indicator of the cost of goods imported into the United States fell by 0.3% in the previous month compared to the July level. Such dynamics are observed for the first time in the last ten months, coinciding with the analysts' forecast.
Another positive factor is the rise in prices for WTI crude oil, which rose to $ 72.61 per barrel. It is the highest indicator for the last month. The inflation rate also slowed down (from 5.4% to 5.3%).
