LGT Navigator

US stock rally continues - S&P closes above 5,000 for first time

US stocks continued to rally on Friday with gains once again led by tech stocks, particularly chipmakers and those with exposure to the artificial intelligence space. The S&P 500 closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time. Revised inflation data from the US added to the positive sentiment.

Date
Auteur
Shane Strowmatt, LGT
Temps de lecture
5 minutes

Wall Street green light
© Shutterstock

The S&P 500 gained 0.6% on Friday, closing for the first time ever above the 5,000 mark at 5,027 points. The index had already broken the 5,000 mark intraday, but Friday was the first close above the level. The Dow Jones Industrial lost 0.1% during Friday’s session and was still hovering around all-time highs. The Nasdaq-100 shot up more than 1%, reaching yet another all-time high. The US indices have made significant gains this year with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 finishing in positive territory five weeks in a row.

The US government announced planned investments of more than USD 5 billion into research and development in the microchips industry on Friday. Chipmakers outpaced the broader market to finish the last session of the week, with Nvidia gaining 3.6% on Friday and both Intel and AMD up 1.9%.

Consumer prices in the US rose more slowly than previously thought in December, revised data released on Friday showed. The Consumer Price Index was up 0.2% in December, not quite as fast of a pace as the 0.3% initially estimated. That quelled some traders’ fears that the figure could be adjusted upwards and confirmed expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve soon.

German inflation was confirmed to be at 3.1% in January, according to the Federal Statistics Office. Using the calculation method to compare inflation across European Union countries, inflation was 3.8% on the year in December. The moderating inflation in Europe’s largest economy has raised hopes that the European Central Bank could cut rates as soon as at its next meeting in March. The Euro Stoxx 50 ended Friday’s session 0.1% higher and Germany’s DAX lost 0.2%.

In the Asia-Pacific region, many major stock markets were closed to start the week, including in Korea and Chinese markets, which will remain closed for the full holiday week. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.1%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the session down 0.4%. The New Zealand dollar slipped versus the US dollar slightly on Monday after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr told parliament that the country’s inflation rate, currently at 4.7%, was too high. The central bank is aiming for a target 2% inflation rate.

Corporate news in focus: There is no major corporate news scheduled today.

Economic data in focus: No major economic data is scheduled for publication today.
 

 

LGT helps you make informed investment decisions

All about global economic and market trends at a glance

You can also follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn – or visit Insights and discover interesting background articles. If you have questions, a consultant from the bank will be happy to help you.

Imprint
Publisher: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., Glärnischstrasse 36, CH-8027 Zurich
Editor: Alessandro Fezzi
Source: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.

Prendre contact