Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on January 19, 2024.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
of Dow Jones Industrial Average It surged on Friday, riding on gains in shares of Home Depot and Caterpillar, as investors began to place their bets this week on some stocks outside the leaders of the tech bull market.
of Dow It closed at 40,000.90, up 247.15 points, or 0.62 percent. During trading hours, the 30-stock blue-chip index rose to an all-time high of 40,257.24, its first time above 40,000 since crossing that milestone in late May. Home Depot It rose 1.7%, bringing the weekly increase to 7.5%. Caterpillar It rose about 1.4% intraday.
of S&P 500 It rose 0.55% to close at 5,615.35. Nasdaq Composite Index It rose 0.63% to close at 18,398.45.
On Thursday’s session, the S&P 500 recorded its worst day since late April as investors sold off Big Tech stocks, sending the market into a deep freeze. NVIDIA It fell 5.6%. However, 30 stocks Dow The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the day’s best performer, rising 0.08% amid a sell-off in other major stock indexes. Investors flocked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday on hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September following slowing inflation. The Dow was up 1.6% for the week, triggered by a report on Thursday that the Consumer Price Index fell 0.1% in June.
“AI’s strong growth story is dominating the market, but it’s not the only story in the market,” said David Russell, head of global markets strategy at TradeStation. “Chairman Powell’s testimony and the CPI report this week remind investors that other catalysts can boost other types of companies. This is especially true for sectors like utilities, which emerged as an AI investment destination earlier this year and now could benefit from interest rate cuts.”
Dow Jones Industrial Average, year to date
The Russell 2000 Index has risen 6% this week, following a 1.1% gain on Friday, as investors bet a so-called soft landing in the overall economy will provide a boost for small businesses.
The market rose despite a muted reaction to banks’ second-quarter earnings. J.P. Morgan The bank reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations thanks to a surge in investment banking fees, but its shares fell 1.2%. City Second-quarter sales and profits beat expectations but fell 1.8%.
Wells Fargo The bank’s shares fell 6 percent after it said net interest income, a key measure of lending profitability, fell short of expectations in the second quarter.
Friday’s wholesale price index came in slightly above expectations, but Wall Street largely ignored those figures after Thursday’s more significant consumer price index showed inflation was slowing.
NVIDIA It rose 1.4% on Friday as investors couldn’t resist beloved tech stocks that had been sold off the previous day.
The S&P 500’s roughly 18% gain this year is largely due to technology stocks. The technology sector is up 33% through 2024, while communication services is up 26%. No other major sector has outperformed the benchmark.
