Wall Street closes Friday with a firm note as investors welcomed Fed’s strong economy
InvestingOnline.com
24/08/2018, 23:55The US stocks market closed Friday with gains as investors welcomed Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell categorization of the United States economy as “strong.” The S&P 500 closed at all-time highs.
Fed’s Jerome Powell affirmed in the Jackson Hole Symposium that he sees no risks of the economy overheating. He also considers that more hikes will be possible if growth accompanies. “Strong momentum in the US economy is expected to continue.” Inflation is expected to maintain in line with his expectations.
The S&P 500 closed 17.71 points or 0.62% up on the day at 2,874.69. The S&P performed its first record close since January 26. On the week, the index gained 0.86%. The Dow Jones Index Average advanced 0.52% on Friday to close at 25,790.35. In the last five days, the DJIA gained 0.47%.
S&P 500 daily chart August 24
The NASDAQ Composite advanced 0.86% as it jumped 67.51 points to 7,945.97. In the week, the Composite rallied 1.66%.
Most sectors finished Friday with gains for the day. The materials sector was the best performer with a 0.81% advance. Followed by information technology which closed 0.57% up on the day. Telecommunication services advanced 0.45% on the last day of the week.
On the last five days, information technology jumped 3.28%, the energy sector finished the week 2.18% up, while the consumer discretionary rallied 1.94%.
On the downside, the consumer staples industry was the worse performer of the day with a 0.40% decline, industrials declined 0.8%, and the financials sector closed 0.08% down on Friday. In the week, utilities were the biggest loser with a 1.3% decline; followed by the real estate, which closed 0.78% down, and consumer staples, 0.75% down on the last five trading days.
