On Thursday, US equity indexes experienced a mixed performance, reflecting the complexities of the economic landscape as investors digested the latest data on durable goods orders alongside encouraging economic growth figures. The durable goods orders in the United States took a notable downturn, registering a 6.6% decline in June, following a modest increase of 0.1% in May.
This sharp decrease came in stark contrast to market expectations, which anticipated a rise of 0.3%, as indicated by a Bloomberg survey. If we were to exclude the significant 20.5% drop seen in transportation orders, the new orders would have reflected a 0.5% increase for June, after experiencing a slight 0.1% fall the month prior.
Analysts were projecting a more subdued gain of 0.2% for this period. Turning to economic growth, the second quarter showed a robust acceleration, with GDP expanding at a rate of 2.8%, up from a prior 1.4% in Q1. Personal consumption also exhibited strength, rising by 2.3%, an improvement over the 1.5% gain in the previous quarter.
Both figures surpassed analysts' expectations of a 2% growth rate. This growth was bolstered by nonresidential fixed investment, inventory growth, and an uptick in government spending, which effectively mitigated the negative impact of declining net exports and a slowdown in residential fixed investment. In the commodities market, the price of September West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by $0.67, reaching $78.26 per barrel.
Meanwhile, September Brent crude, which serves as the global benchmark, was observed up by $0.62 to $82.33. In terms of corporate performance, Molina Healthcare saw a significant increase in its stock, soaring nearly 13%. This positive movement followed the company's overnight announcement of stronger-than-expected Q2 adjusted earnings and sales figures, as well as a reaffirmation of its full-year 2024 income outlook.
Conversely, Edwards Lifesciences faced a steep decline, with its shares tumbling by 31.3% after reporting sales growth that fell short of optimistic forecasts for Q2..