U.S. stock markets closed sharply higher at record-high level on Friday. Expectations of U.S.-China trade deal favorable economic data boosted market participants confidence in risky assets like equities. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory. For the week as a whole, these indexes also finished in positive zone.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) climbed 1% or 432.43 points to close at 43,819.27. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up nearly 580 points. Notably, 24 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 6 finished in negative zone. The index is 2.7% away from its all-time high recorded on Dec 4, 2024.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 20,273.46, advancing 0.5% or 105.54 points due to strong performance of AI-centric technology bigwigs. This was a new record-high closing for the index. In intraday trading, the tech-laden index also posted a new all-time high of 20,311.51.
Shares of AI behemoths like NVIDIA Corp. NVDA, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN gains 1.7%, 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. All three stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to finish at 6,173.07, marking a new closing-high. In intraday trading, Wall Street’s most observed benchmark posted a new all-time high of 6,187.68. Eight out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three in negative zone.
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector (SPDR) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) rose 1.2%, 1.7% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was down 0.5%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.6% to 16.32. A total of 22.07 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 18.27 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.29-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
The Bloomberg News citing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the framework of a trade deal between the United States and China has been reached. China also subscribed to this statement. The Trump administration is hopeful to reach trade deals with 18 major trading partners of the nation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that July 8 and 9 deadlines given by President Trump for restarting tariffs on those nations are “not critical.”
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