Wall Street on Friday capped a mostly quiet week of trading with broad gains for stocks and more record highs for the major indices.
Technology and healthcare stocks powered much of the rally.
The S&P 500 notched its 10th winning week in the past 11. The benchmark index also finished with a record high for the fourth time this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite also ended the week at new highs.
Momentum for stocks has been clearly upward for months and the market is heading into what has historically been a seasonally good period.
Rising optimism about a “phase one” trade deal announced a week ago between the US and China has helped push stock indices to records.
Fears about a possible recession have also faded since the summer after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times and appears set to keep them low for a long time.
“It’s just a benign continuation of the year-end rally based on no compelling reasons to scare people into selling,” Globalt Investments senior portfolio manager Tom Martin said.
“You have not a lot of reasons to sell; maybe a few reasons to buy. So, it’s just a very slow, low volume drift upward,” he said.
The S&P 500 on Friday rose 15.85 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,221.22, jumping 1.7 percent from a close of 3,168.80 on Dec. 13. With less than two weeks left in this year, the S&P 500 is up 28.5 percent for the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday climbed 78.13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 28,455.09, an increase of 1.1 percent from 28,135.38 a week earlier.
The NASDAQ Composite on Friday added 37.74 points, or 0.4 percent, to 8,924.96, surging 2.2 percent from a close of 8,734.88 a week earlier.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks on Friday picked up 4.81 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,671.90, a 2.1 percent leap from 1,637.98 on Dec. 13.
Roughly two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
The US and China last week agreed to cut tariffs on some of each other’s goods and postpone other tariff threats. The interim trade deal has helped ease a key source of uncertainty for investors heading into next year.
Encouraging reports on home construction, industrial production and other economic data earlier this week helped keep the rally going.
More good news arrived on Friday with a report showing that US households have continued to spend amid a healthy job market. That is making up for hesitance by businesses to spend and it is helping to keep the US economy growing at a moderate pace.
“What we’ve had in the last several weeks is a lessening of uncertainty,” Martin said.
Spending by US households has been the main pillar for the economy, even as CEOs turned cautious amid all the uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Consumer last month spending rose 0.4 percent from October, the strongest growth in four months, US Department of Commerce data showed.
The increase in spending came as incomes rose 0.5 percent from a month earlier.
A separate report confirmed that the US economy grew at a moderate annual rate of 2.1 percent in the third quarter. Much of the growth from that July-to-September period came from stronger consumer spending.
Technology stocks accounted for a big slice of the market’s gains. Intel Corp rose 1.7 percent.
Healthcare and industrial stocks also notched solid gains. Cigna Corp climbed 3 percent and Union Pacific Corp added 1.7 percent.
Carnival Corp & PLC jumped 7.6 percent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it reported stronger earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The cruise ship operator also gave a profit forecast for the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ forecasts.
Additional reporting by staff writer
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS