The US markets traded jubilantly on Friday with all the three major averages reaching new record closing highs. Traders remained optimistic to the latest earnings news, with shares of Intel (INTC) moving sharply higher after the semiconductor giant reported fourth quarter results that exceeded the street estimates. On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing slower than expected economic growth in the fourth quarter, but economists recommended looking past the headline number. The real gross domestic product increased by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 3.2 percent growth seen in the third quarter. The street had expected GDP to climb by 3.0 percent. While the pace of GDP growth slowed more than expected, final sales climbed by 3.2 percent and final sales to domestic purchasers jumped by 4.3 percent.
Separately, the Commerce Department showed a much bigger than expected increase in durable goods orders in the month of December. Moreover, the durable goods orders spiked by 2.9 percent in December after surging up by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in November. The street had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month. Excluding an increase in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.6 percent in December after edging up by 0.3 percent in November.
The Nasdaq surged 94.61 points or 1.28 percent to 7,505.77, the S&P 500 edged higher 1.18 points or 33.62 percent to 2,872.87, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 223.92 points or 0.85 percent to 26,616.71.
