WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance in afternoon trading on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a notable advance and is on pace to end the session at a new record closing high.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 187.23 points or 1.1 percent at 16,923.26, the S&P 500 is up 38.55 points or 0.7 percent at 5,306.39 and the Dow is up 87.78 points or 0.2 percent at 39,153.04.
The rebound on Wall Street comes as traders look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the downturn seen in the previous session, which saw the Dow post its worst daily drop since March 2023.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street on Thursday came as a positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA) was overshadowed by lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in durable goods orders in the month of April, although the growth came following a significantly downwardly revised jump in March.
The report said durable goods orders climbed by 0.7 percent in April following a downwardly revised 0.8 percent advance in March.
Economist had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.8 percent compared to the 2.6 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
A separate report released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated slightly less than previously estimated in the month of May.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for May was upwardly revised to 69.1 from the preliminary reading of 67.4. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
Despite the upward revision, the consumer sentiment index still fell sharply from 77.2 in April, slumping to its lowest level since hitting 61.3 last November.
Meanwhile, the report showed year-ahead inflation expectations increased by much less than previously estimated, inching up to 3.3 percent in May from 3.2 percent in April.
The University of Michigan had previously reported year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 3.5 percent, although the downwardly revised figure still represents the highest level since hitting 4.5 percent last November.
The revised data also showed long-run inflation expectations held steady at 3.0 percent for the second straight month compared to the previously reported uptick to 3.1 percent.
Sector News
Computer hardware stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, resulting in a 1.9 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Semiconductor and networking stocks also continue to turn in strong performances, contributing to the advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Considerable strength is also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.
Gold, housing and retail stocks are also seeing notable strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved notably lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dove by 1.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 0.9 percent.
Most European stocks also moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, although the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries are showing a lack of direction after trending lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.471 percent.
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