US markets extend gains on Friday

04 Mar 2023 Evaluate

Magnifying their previous session’s gains, the US markets ended higher with good gains of over a percent on Friday as traders continued to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness, as the gains posted by the Nasdaq and S&P 500 on Thursday came after they hit their lowest intraday levels in over a month. Traders also reacted positively to a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a very slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of February. The ISM said its services PMI edged down to 55.1 in February from 55.2 in January, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector. Street had expected the index to slip to 54.5. The report also showed the prices index fell to 65.6 in February from 67.8 in January, pointing to a slowdown in the pace of price growth.

On the sectoral front, banking stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the KBW Bank Index up by 1.9 percent. The index rebounded after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a month. Significant strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index. Natural gas stocks also turned in a strong performance amid a substantial increase by the price of the commodity, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index climbing by 1.7 percent. Brokerage, housing and commercial estate stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 387.40 points or 1.17 percent to 33,390.97, Nasdaq jumped 226.02 points or 1.97 percent to 11,689.01 and S&P 500 was up by 64.29 points or 1.61 percent to 4,045.64.

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

×