US markets extend gains to end higher on Friday

24 Jul 2021 Evaluate

The US markets extended their gains and ended higher on Friday. With the continued advance, the major averages all reached new record closing highs. The four-day winning streak represents a remarkable turnaround for the markets following the sell-off on Monday, which dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in almost a month. The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies. Shares of Snap (SNAP) soared after the Snapchat parent reported an unexpected second quarter profit on better than expected revenues. Social media giant Twitter (TWTR) also moved notably higher after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat revenue guidance. Shares of American Express (AXP) also moved to the upside after the financial services company reported second quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) came under pressure after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected second quarter results but provided disappointing guidance. Housing stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.3 percent. Significant strength also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent advance by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. Networking, software and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while oil service stocks fell sharply despite amid a modest increase by the price of crude oil. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision is likely to be in focus next week, with traders paying close attention to any comments regarding the central bank's asset purchase program.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.20 points or 0.68 percent to 35,061.55, Nasdaq gained 152.39 points or 1.04 percent to 14,836.99 and S&P 500 was up by 44.31 points or 1.01 percent to 4,411.79.

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