U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors closed out the best week of 2024, part of a market recovery after a sharp decline at the start of August.
The S&P500 rose 0.2% to 5,554.25, while the Nasdaq-Composite rose 0.21% to 17,631.72 on Friday. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.24%, to 40,659.76. This week, the S&P 500 gained nearly 3.9%, its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq gained 5.2%, while the 30-stock Dow gained 2.9% for the week.
After this week’s comeback, the S&P 500 is now just 2% below its record high in mid-July. This week’s data helped calm the jittery market. Retail sales data released on Thursday came in much stronger than economists expected, while weekly unemployment figures fell, both of which provided evidence that recession fears that contributed to a global sell-off earlier this month were overblown. Inflation figures released earlier this week also fueled hopes that a soft landing scenario was still possible.
“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, which hampers the Federal Reserve when rapid rate cuts are needed to defend growth.”
Shares of NVIDIA With an increase of over 18%, they are among the biggest winners of the week among technology stocks. Apple And Microsoft rose by about 4% and 3% respectively during the week.
The Dow lost 1,000 points and the S&P 500 had its worst day since 2022 on August 5 as investors feared the Federal Reserve was late in cutting interest rates and the economy was sliding into recession. The unwinding of a hedge fund currency trade added to market volatility.
But investors have since bought, and the S&P 500 rose for seven days in a row as economic reports eased recession fears. The Nasdaq posted its best week since November 2023. On Friday, consumer sentiment rose more than expected, according to the latest University of Michigan survey.
