US markets extend gains to end higher on Friday

17 Apr 2021 Evaluate

Extending previous session’s gains, the US markets ended higher on Friday with the Dow and the S&P 500 once again setting new record closing highs. Stocks continued to benefit from yesterday's strong US economic data, with upbeat economic data from China adding to optimism about a global economic recovery. A report from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the Chinese economy saw record growth in the first quarter, as GDP spiked 18.3 percent year-over-year. Upbeat earnings news also generated continued buying interest, as Morgan Stanley (MS) joined other financial giants in reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the month of March. The Commerce Department said housing starts skyrocketed by 19.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.739 million in March after plunging by 11.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.457 million in February. Street had expected housing starts to spike by 13.5 percent to a rate of 1.613 million from the 1.421 million originally reported for the previous month. With the bigger than expected increase, housing starts reached their highest level since hitting an annual rate of 1.802 million in June of 2006.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing sentiment has continued to improve in April but by much less than anticipated. The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index rose to 86.5 in April after soaring to 84.9 in March. Street had expected the index to jump to 89.6. Despite the much smaller than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index still reached its highest level since hitting 89.1 in March of 2020.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 164.68 points or 0.48 percent to 34,200.67, Nasdaq rose 13.58 points or 0.10 percent to 14,052.34 and S&P 500 was up by 15.05 points or 0.36 percent to 4,185.47.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×