The S&P 500 rose on Friday, staying on track for its best week since November 2020 as investors digested the Fed. interest rate increase and developments in Ukraine.
The broad US stock index was recently up 0.1% in early afternoon trade after three consecutive sessions of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, or about 98 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.9%.
The S&P 500 is on track for a 5.1% gain this week, while the Nasdaq Composite is headed for a 6.9% weekly advance.
Investors are beginning to show more confidence in US stocks after two weeks of declines for the S&P 500 and five weeks of losses by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Investors are also evaluating the impact The war in Ukraine On the US economy, they say companies still have strong fundamentals. many think Strong US labor market It will help consumers to keep the economy growing.
said Jeff Schulze, investment strategist at ClearBridge Investments.
But the recent rise in oil prices could dampen sentiment and motivate more Inflation concerns.
Oil prices on Friday hovered at elevated levels, with Brent crude down 0.1% after jumping more than 8% on Thursday. The global index was trading at $106.76 a barrel. Traders remain concerned about reduced oil supplies due to long-term sanctions on Russia amid signs that the conflict may continue.
“Sentiment remains fragile, and the risk of further escalation remains a real concern despite the gains in the past two weeks,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
Russian and US officials said on Thursday that talks between Moscow and Kiev on a ceasefire had not yielded progress. President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and was expected to do so trying to deter Beijing Russia’s support in the Ukraine war.
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The yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell to 2.146% on Friday from 2.192% on Thursday, reversing the trend after four consecutive days of gains. Yields decrease as prices rise.
between individual stocks,
decreased after 4.1% I reported low shipping volumes They said profit margins are under pressure.
in economic news, Existing home sales in the United States The National Association of Realtors said Friday that February sales fell 7.2%, while February sales fell 2.4% from a year earlier. Average Fixed 30-Year Mortgage Rate recently topped 4% For the first time since 2019.
Offshore, the Stoxx Europe 600 continental index was up 0.6%.
The Russian stock market remained closed. The country’s central bank has yet to say whether it will open next week. The central bank kept the key interest rate at 20%. The ruble rose 1.7% against the dollar, trading at about 104 rubles to one dollar, after the Russian state avoided default by making Coupon payments on sovereign dollar-denominated bonds on Thursday.
“The markets were in a position to face a technical shortcoming of Russia, people were surprised,” said Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Allianz. He added that this gives a boost to the currency.
Russian government bonds also rose. Bonds maturing next year are trading around 55 cents on the dollar, up from 25 cents at the start of the week, according to AdvantageData.
In Asia, most major benchmarks have risen. Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising for a third trading session in a row and extending the momentum spurred by policy makers in Beijing. Which indicates the support of capital markets earlier in the week. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.4% on Friday but closed more than 4% higher for the week.
Write to Anna Hirtenstein at [email protected] and Karen Langley at [email protected]
Corrections and amplifications
European stocks started trading at 4 AM ET. An earlier version of this article mistakenly described the moves as of the end of Thursday as having occurred on Friday morning.
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