US markets end higher on Friday

28 Jan 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Friday, boosted by hopes that inflation is moderating. Meanwhile, traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy meeting next week. With the Fed widely expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes to 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for further rate hikes. Recent upbeat economic data has generated some optimism the Fed could engineer a soft landing but has also led to concerns the central bank will need to keep rates at elevated levels for longer than anticipated. Besides, all the major averages posted a positive week and are on pace for a month of gains. On the sectoral front, Transportation stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 1.3 percent. Notable strength was also visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. The index reached its best closing level in three months.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing personal income increased in line with street estimates in the month of December. The report said personal income inched up by 0.2 percent in December after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in November. Street had expected personal spending to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending dipped by 0.2 percent in December after slipping by 0.1 percent in November. The modest decrease matched street estimates. The report also said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in December after inching up by 0.2 percent in November. The inflation reading, which is said to be preferred by the Fed, was expected to show another 0.2 percent uptick.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28.67 points or 0.08 percent to 33,978.08, Nasdaq rose 109.3 points or 0.95 percent to 11,621.71 and S&P 500 was up by 10.13 points or 0.25 percent to 4,070.56.

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