U.S. stocks oscillated near the zero line on Friday morning as investors eyed the end of a week that had ushered in a relief rally, with all three major indexes on track to close the five-day period with gains.
The S&P500 by 0.03%, while the Nasdaq-Composite rose by 0.01%. Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 54 points, or 0.15%. This week, the S&P 500 has gained more than 3%, putting the broad market index on pace for its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq is up 5%, while the 30-stock Dow is up about 3%.
Retail sales figures released on Thursday were much better than economists had expected, while weekly unemployment figures fell, both of which suggested that recession fears that contributed to a global sell-off earlier this month were overblown. Inflation figures released earlier this week fuelled hopes that a soft landing scenario was still possible.
The data helped calm a jittery market and helped stocks rebound to near all-time highs. The S&P 500 is now just over 2% away from its record high hit in mid-July.
“The data released last week struck the right balance, neither too hot nor too cold,” wrote Mark Haefele, head of global wealth management at UBS, on Friday. “This should help to allay concerns about both a looming recession and persistent inflation that could hamper the Federal Reserve if rapid rate cuts are needed to defend growth.”
Shares of NVIDIA With an increase of 17%, they are among the biggest winners of the week among technology stocks. Apple And Microsoft increased by about 4% and 3% respectively.
