Wall Street rebounds, renews all-time highs on the back of tech gains
Following a daily close with modest losses on Thursday, led by the technology sector, major equity indexes in the U.S. rebounded on Friday and hit intraday all-time highs.
Technology giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, and Facebook recorded robust gains on the last day of the week, lifting the S&P Information Technology Index (SPLRCT) 0.6% higher on the day.
Financials, which weighed on the indexes yesterday, traded mixed on Friday as Bank of America shares rose more than 1% on higher-than-expected profit results while Wells Fargo recorded its largest one-day drop (-3.17%) after it lowered the revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter. At the end of the week, the S&P Financials Index (SPSY) was virtually unchanged around 434. “Because of the reach that financials have into the economy, the market likes to see its what earnings are reflecting, be it on loan growth, it’s really trying to look at the health of the economy,” Nana Adae, global investment specialist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Chicago, told Reuters.
In the meantime, healthcare sector took a heavy blow from US President Donald Trump's executive order, which aims to weaken Obamacare by reducing billions of dollars in subsidies to private insurers for low-income households. The S&P 500 Health Care Index (SPXHC) lost 2 points or 0.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37.73 points, or 0.17%, at 22,878.74, the S&P 500 rose 2.81 points, or 0.11%, at 2,553.74 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 14.68 points, or 0.24%, at 6,606.19.
Headlines from the NA session:
- US Retail Sales: Strong auto sales drive September growth - Wells Fargo
- WTI retreats from 2-week highs, still above $51.00
- US CPI: Inflation looked anemic, hurricanes aside - Wells Fargo
- Fed's Fischer: Slow inflation is a good reason for caution
- Fed's Evans: Priority now is for inflation to get back up to Fed's 2% objective
- US Tsy Sec. Mnuchin: Aim is to get tax reform legislation to Trump's desk at start-Dec
- Dollar dropped like hot potato after core CPI disappointed - BBH
- US CPI and retail sales support December rate hike story - ING
- US: Retail sales for Sep 2017 were $483.9 billion, an increase of 1.6% from the previous month
- US: CPI for all items increases 0.5% in September as gasoline index rises sharply
- US: Consumer sentiment surged in early October, highest level since start of 2004 - UoM