US markets end choppy trading session mostly in green on Friday

18 May 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended the choppy trading session mostly in green on Friday with the Dow settling above 40,000 for the first time. The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they digest recent strength in the markets, which saw the major averages reach new record highs. Recent economic data has generated optimism about an interest rate cut in the coming months, comments from Federal Reserve officials have put a damper on some of the cheer. Investors also remained on sidelines ahead of reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales along with remarks by several Fed officials.

On the economic data front, the Conference Board released a report showing a continued decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of April. The Conference Board said its leading economic index fell by 0.6 percent in April after dipping by 0.3 percent in March. Street had expected the index to decrease by another 0.3 percent. Among individual stocks, shares of Reddit (RDDT) moved sharply higher after the social media company announced a partnership with OpenAI. Online networking company Doximity (DOCS) also surged after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results.

On the sectoral front, Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 3.7 percent to a two-year closing high. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal. Oil producer, brokerage and networking stocks also turned in strong performances, while modest weakness emerged among semiconductor stocks.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.21 points or 0.34 percent to 40,003.59 and S&P 500 was up by 6.17 points or 0.12 percent to 5,303.27, while Nasdaq dropped 12.35 points or 0.07 percent to 16,685.97.

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