US markets end higher on Friday

25 May 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Friday as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the downturn seen on Thursday, which saw the Dow post its worst daily drop since March 2023. Further, some support came in as the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in durable goods orders in the month of April, although the growth came following a significantly downwardly revised jump in March. The report said durable goods orders climbed by 0.7 percent in April following a downwardly revised 0.8 percent advance in March. Street had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.8 percent compared to the 2.6 percent surge originally reported for the previous month. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, a separate report released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated slightly less than previously estimated in the month of May. The report said the consumer sentiment index for May was upwardly revised to 69.1 from the preliminary reading of 67.4. Street had expected the index to be unrevised. Despite the upward revision, the consumer sentiment index still fell sharply from 77.2 in April, slumping to its lowest level since hitting 61.3 last November. On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 1.9 percent to a new record closing high. Chipmaker Nvidia shot up by 2.6 percent, extending the surge seen on Thursday following the AI darling's strong quarterly results.

Dow Jones Industrial Average added 4.33 points or 0.01 percent to 39,069.59, Nasdaq rose 184.76 points or 1.1 percent to 16,920.79 and S&P 500 was up by 36.88 points or 0.7 percent to 5,304.72. 


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