US stocks were largely positive on Friday, with Dow Jones Industrial Arage rising 250 points, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% with Wall Street targeting victory week.
summary
- The shares traded high on Friday as a rise in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Array.
- Risk assets skyrocketed after the latest retailers surged sales data.
Stocks slipped on Thursday amid unrest around the federal reserve and interest rate scenario, but Friday's outlook showed new optimism.
Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 250 points (0.6%), with the benchmark index S&P 500 adding 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite was hovered near the flatline.
In particular, investors expanded the positive sentiment seen throughout the week with a positive response to the July retail sales report. The Dow also won amid a local rise in UnitedHealth (UNH). This jumped after Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had acquired 5 million shares in the healthcare insurance giant.
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Retail sales rose in July
Released a day ago, producer price index data for July weakened investors' sentiment after a hotter than expected inflation figure.
However, fresh economic data released before Bell shows retail sales rose 0.5% in July, meeting consensus estimates. Retail sales, excluding cars, rose 0.3% in line with forecasts. Data for the previous month was revised to a maximum of 0.9%, indicating stable consumer spending despite continuing concerns about the US economy.
The stock market response to the report has further boosted the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial averages, reaching record highs. Analysts say the surge in retail sales is a pointer to a robust US consumer market. Data also showed that import prices rose in July amid rising prices of consumer goods.
In this context, the S&P 500 is bidding to expand its push beyond the record high, supported by technology stock profits and cooler consumer price inflation data released at the beginning of the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both have increased by more than 1% over the past week, while the Dow has increased by 2%.
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