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Wall Street ended sharply higher on Friday, pulled up by mega-cap tech stocks. Investor mood was generally upbeat on closing out a strong quarter and the first half of the year. All three major indexes ended in the green.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.8% or 285.18 points to close at 34,407.6. Twenty-six components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while four ended in negative.
The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, or 53.94 points, to close at 4,450.38. All the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) advanced 1.6%, 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 196.59 points, or 1.5%, to finish at 13,787.92.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.4% at 13.59. A total of 10.4 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.3 billion.
Market Closes Out a Strong First Half to the Year
Mega-cap tech stocks, which have contributed the most in the strong showing of the market in 2023, rose on Friday to close out a strong second quarter and a stellar first half of the year. A recent slew of economic data has re-instated investors’ belief that the economy remains resilient and inflation will continue to come down to the Fed’s target level of 2%.
Even as market participants continue to price in the eventuality that the Fed would be increasing interest rates by another 25 bps in its July meeting, there is a general feeling that we might be very close to the actual end of the rate-hike cycle. Investors are currently pricing in an 84% probability that the central bank will implement the aforementioned hike per the CME-owned FedWatch tool. Fed officials continue to remain hawkish, though. However, the very fact that they have insisted on being data-driven while deciding on monetary policy keeps investors hopeful.
The positive vibe around the breakthrough made in Artificial Intelligence technology has primarily driven the market in this first half of the year. Tech has made the most, as it did on Friday. Consequently, shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) jumped 3.6% and 2.3%, respectively. NVIDIA sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Weekly Roundup
The three benchmark indexes closed out a winning week on the back of strong economic data and anticipation of a dovish Fed in the near future. For the week, the S&P 500 added 2.4%, the Nasdaq added 2.2% and the Dow climbed 2%.
Monthly Roundup
For June, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added 6.6% and 6.5%, respectively, while the Dow Jones added 4.6%.
Quarterly Roundup
The S&P 500 rose 8.3%, marking a third straight quarter of gains and the index’s biggest quarterly advance since fourth-quarter 2021. The Nasdaq gained 12.8% for the second straight positive quarter. The Dow advanced 3.4% for a third winning quarter.
Half-Yearly Roundup
In the first half of 2023, the S&P 500 jumped a stellar 15.9% to close out its best first half since 2019. The biggest mover, however, was Nasdaq, which surged 31.7% in its best first half since 1983. The Dow Jones added a modest 3.8% in the same period.
Economic Data
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the PCE Index for the month had come down to a 0.1% increase in May, as opposed to an unchanged 0.4% for April. Core PCE increased 0.3% in the same period compared with 0.4% in April. Personal Spending increased 0.1%.
Personal income increased 0.4% in May compared with a revised 0.3% increase in April. The April figure was revised down from 0.4%. The personal savings rate increased 4.6% in May compared with 4.3% in April, which was revised up from 4.1%.
The University of Michigan reported that consumer confidence for June had come in at 64.4 against a consensus of 64. The May figure remained unchanged at 63.9.
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Stock Market News for Jul 3, 2023
Wall Street ended sharply higher on Friday, pulled up by mega-cap tech stocks. Investor mood was generally upbeat on closing out a strong quarter and the first half of the year. All three major indexes ended in the green.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.8% or 285.18 points to close at 34,407.6. Twenty-six components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while four ended in negative.
The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, or 53.94 points, to close at 4,450.38. All the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) advanced 1.6%, 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 196.59 points, or 1.5%, to finish at 13,787.92.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.4% at 13.59. A total of 10.4 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.3 billion.
Market Closes Out a Strong First Half to the Year
Mega-cap tech stocks, which have contributed the most in the strong showing of the market in 2023, rose on Friday to close out a strong second quarter and a stellar first half of the year. A recent slew of economic data has re-instated investors’ belief that the economy remains resilient and inflation will continue to come down to the Fed’s target level of 2%.
Even as market participants continue to price in the eventuality that the Fed would be increasing interest rates by another 25 bps in its July meeting, there is a general feeling that we might be very close to the actual end of the rate-hike cycle. Investors are currently pricing in an 84% probability that the central bank will implement the aforementioned hike per the CME-owned FedWatch tool. Fed officials continue to remain hawkish, though. However, the very fact that they have insisted on being data-driven while deciding on monetary policy keeps investors hopeful.
The positive vibe around the breakthrough made in Artificial Intelligence technology has primarily driven the market in this first half of the year. Tech has made the most, as it did on Friday. Consequently, shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) jumped 3.6% and 2.3%, respectively. NVIDIA sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Weekly Roundup
The three benchmark indexes closed out a winning week on the back of strong economic data and anticipation of a dovish Fed in the near future. For the week, the S&P 500 added 2.4%, the Nasdaq added 2.2% and the Dow climbed 2%.
Monthly Roundup
For June, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added 6.6% and 6.5%, respectively, while the Dow Jones added 4.6%.
Quarterly Roundup
The S&P 500 rose 8.3%, marking a third straight quarter of gains and the index’s biggest quarterly advance since fourth-quarter 2021. The Nasdaq gained 12.8% for the second straight positive quarter. The Dow advanced 3.4% for a third winning quarter.
Half-Yearly Roundup
In the first half of 2023, the S&P 500 jumped a stellar 15.9% to close out its best first half since 2019. The biggest mover, however, was Nasdaq, which surged 31.7% in its best first half since 1983. The Dow Jones added a modest 3.8% in the same period.
Economic Data
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the PCE Index for the month had come down to a 0.1% increase in May, as opposed to an unchanged 0.4% for April. Core PCE increased 0.3% in the same period compared with 0.4% in April. Personal Spending increased 0.1%.
Personal income increased 0.4% in May compared with a revised 0.3% increase in April. The April figure was revised down from 0.4%. The personal savings rate increased 4.6% in May compared with 4.3% in April, which was revised up from 4.1%.
The University of Michigan reported that consumer confidence for June had come in at 64.4 against a consensus of 64. The May figure remained unchanged at 63.9.