NEW YORK, New York – Wall Street was divided on Friday with the Dow Jones flat, in its first weekly loss in 5 weeks, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 feasted on demanbd for Nvidia. The Nasdaq Composite however was the leader Friday, with the key teck index rising more than 1 percent.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods picked up more than expected ilast month while the University of Michigan revealed consumer inflation expectations saw pick-up in late May compared to the start of the month.
“The data has come in a little better than people thought this morning. Durable goods was a pretty solid number. … And then consumer sentiment, not great, but not bad, better than people expected,” Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle told Reuters news agency Friday.
“This is a bounce where people are like, maybe things aren’t as bad as we thought, maybe there’s room for the Fed to cut rates and the economy’s going to be OK, and we’re not completely falling apart.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) saw a fractional rise Friday, closing at 39,069.59, up by 4.33 points or 0.01 percent. The slight increase suggests stability in this blue-chip index despite mixed economic signals.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 (GSPC) closed at 5,304.72, up by 36.88 points or 0.70 percent. This increase reflects a strong performance in the broader market, driven by gains in Nvidia.
The NASDAQ Composite (IXIC) experienced a significant gain, ending at 16,920.79, up by 184.76 points or 1.10 percent. This robust performance highlights the continued strength of technology and growth stocks.
Friday’s Latest Foreign Exchange Market Quotes
The foreign exchange market saw varied movements among major currency pairs, reflecting ongoing economic dynamics and geopolitical factors influencing global markets. The U.S. dollar lost steam though Friday giving up a portion of the week’s gains.
The Euro/US Dollar (EURUSD) pair showed a positive trend, closing at 1.0848, an increase of 0.32 percent. This rise indicates a strengthening of the euro against the U.S. Dollar.
The Japanese Yen (USDJPY) experienced a slight decrease, closing at 156.95, down by 0.04 percent.
The Canadian Dollar (USDCAD) saw a gain of 0.46 percent to 1.3666.
The British Pound (GBPUSD) appreciated 0.31 percent to 1.2737.
The Swiss Franc (USDCHF) showed a slight gain, recahing 0.9147, up by 0.04 percent.
The Australian Dollar (AUDUSD) saw an increase, settling at 0.6628, up by 0.33 percent.
The New Zealand Dollar (NZDUSD) finished around 0.6122, ahead 0.39 percent.
Global Stock Market Summary for Friday Sees European, Asian Pacific and UK Shares Mainly Lower
The closing figures for major global stock indices on Friday reflected a mixed market sentiment, with some indices experiencing gains while others faced declines, but with the decliners being in the majority.
Here are Friday’s closing quotes from the key indices around the world:
CANADA
In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index (GSPTSE) closed at 22,320.87, up by 120.08 points or 0.54 percent. This rise underscores positive market sentiment and strong performances in key sectors such as energy and financials.
UNITED KINGDOM
In LONDON, the FTSE 100 closed at 8,317.59 Friday, down by 21.64 points or 0.26 percent.
EUROPE
The German DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX managed a slight increase, ending at 18,693.37, up by 2.05 points or 0.01 percent.
The CAC 40 in France decreased to 8,094.97, losing 7.36 points or 0.09 percent.
The ESTX 50 PR.EUR saw a slight decrease, ending at 5,035.41, down by 2.19 points or 0.04 percent. The Euronext 100 Index closed at 1,547.46, a marginal decline of 0.52 points or 0.03 percent.
The BEL 20 in Belgium on Friday dropped to 3,969.92, down by 5.82 points or 0.15 percent.
ASIA
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Japan saw a significant drop, closing at 38,646.11, down by 457.11 points or 1.17 percent.
The HANG SENG INDEX in Hong Kong fell to 18,608.94, a decline of 259.77 points or 1.38 percent.
The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai decreased to 3,088.87, losing 27.52 points or 0.88 percent. The Shenzhen Index also dropped, to 9,424.58, down by 117.07 points or a hefty 1.23 percent.
The KOSPI Composite Index in South Korea closed at 2,687.60 Friday, a drop of 34.21 points or 1.26 percent.
The TSEC weighted index in Taiwan decreased to 21,565.34, down by 42.09 points or 0.19 percent.
In Southeast Asia, the IDX COMPOSITE in Indonesia rose to 7,222.38, up by 36.34 points or 0.51 percent. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI in Malaysia dropped to 1,619.40, a decline of 9.78 points or 0.60 percent.
The STI Index in Singapore closed at 3,316.56, down by 6.06 points or 0.18 percent.
The S&P BSE SENSEX in India slightly decreased to 75,410.39, down by 7.65 points or 0.01 percent, wile the NIFTY 50 in India closed Friday at 22,957.10, a slight decline of 10.55 points or 0.05 percent.
OCEANIA
The Australian ALL ORDINARIES ended at 7,999.20, a drop of 83.90 points or 1.04 percent. Meantime the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia ended lower at 7,727.60, a decline of 84.20 points or 1.08 percent.
Across the Tasman the S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS in New Zealand on Friday fell to 11,783.39, down by 26.09 points or 0.22 percent.
AFRICA
In other markets, the Top 40 USD Net TRI Index in South Africa closed at 4,244.38, up by 18.95 points or 0.45 percent.
MIDDLE EAST
Most Middle East Markets were closed Friday and will reopen on Sunday.
