NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes moved higher on Friday as technology stocks rebounded from a losing streak, while investors geared up for potential policy shifts under the incoming Trump administration.
At 11:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 264.88 points, or 0.62%, to 42,657.15, the S&P 500 gained 63.35 points, or 1.08%, to 5,931.90 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 282.23 points, or 1.46%, to 19,563.03.
All of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were trading in positive territory, led by a 1.7% rise in consumer discretionary stocks. Technology stocks advanced 1.5% after falling for the past four sessions and Nvidia, up 4%, drove gains on all three major indexes.
Wall Street had a dour start to the new year, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq erasing early gains to close lower for a fifth straight session on Thursday, bucking a historical trend where markets rally in the last five sessions of December and the first two sessions of January.
Despite Friday’s gains, all three major indexes were on track to log weekly declines of nearly 1% each.
Analysts have highlighted uncertainty surrounding the policies that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration might roll out, especially with his Republican party holding sway over Congress. The newly elected Congress will begin its first session on Friday, with Trump set to take the oath of office on Jan. 20.
Trump’s proposals, ranging from slashing corporate taxes and easing regulations to imposing tariffs and curbing illegal immigration, could boost corporate profits and energize the economy. However, they also pose inflation risks.
“Once you get the (Trump) administration settled and things calm down by the end of January, you’re going to start to see people become more and more bullish if the new administration starts rolling out a lot of pro-business mandates,” said Michael Matousek, head trader at US Global Investors Inc.
Hindering the case for easing rates, however, data continues to suggest resilience in the economy, with a fresh survey showing manufacturing activity moved closer to recovery in December.
Traders have toned down their expectations on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and now see the first dovish move coming in May, per the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note also remains anchored above the psychological level of 4.5%.
Given the uncertainty, inflows into US equity funds experienced a sharp decline in the week leading up to Jan. 1.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin was the first among policymakers this year to comment on the outlook for the economy and backed more growth upside over downside.
Alcoholic beverage makers such as Constellation Brands dropped 1%, Molson Coors lost 2.8%, and Brown-Forman slipped 1.5%, after the US surgeon general urged cancer warnings on the labels of alcoholic drinks.
US Steel slid 6.4% after President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion purchase of the company.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.58-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 25 new lows.
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