US markets end mostly higher on Friday

13 Mar 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Friday as traders expressed optimism about the economy reopening after President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1st. The vaccine news combined with the new $1.9 trillion stimulus package led to hopes for a return to normalcy after a year of the coronavirus pandemic. Adding to the positive sentiment, the University of Michigan released a report showing US consumer sentiment improved by much more than expected in the month of March. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index jumped to 83.0 in March after dipping to 76.8 in February. Street had expected the index to inch up to 78.5. With the much bigger than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 89.1 in March of 2020.

Meanwhile, the economic optimism also led to a spike in treasury yields, with the ten-year yield surging above 1.6 percent to reach its highest levels in a year. The jump in yields weighed on technology stocks, resulting in the pullback by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Commercial real estate, utilities and telecom stocks also moved notably higher, while weakness among semiconductor and software stocks weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision is likely to be in the spotlight next week, with traders looking for the central bank to address the recent spike in bond yields. Traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and regional manufacturing activity.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 293.05 points or 0.90 percent to 32,778.64 and S&P 500 was up by 4 points or 0.10 percent to 3,943.34, while Nasdaq lost 78.81 points or 0.59 percent to 13,319.87.

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