S&P 500 & Nasdaq record their best weekly performances since March

Stocks slipped on Friday as Wall Street closed out a huge week in which investors received a pause on rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, plus encouraging inflation data.

The S&P 500 ticked down 0.37 per cent to close at 4,409.59, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 108.94 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at 34,299.12. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.68 per cent to finish the session at 13,689.57.

Here are the major market milestones on the week:

The S&P 500 is up 2.6 per cent on the week, its best performance since March.
The Nasdaq Composite is up about 3.3 per cent on the week, its best week since March.
The Nasdaq is up eight weeks in a row, its best winning streak since 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 1.3 per cent for the week, its third positive week in a row.

Friday brought more good news on the inflation and economic front. Consumer inflation expectations fell in June, with one-year assumptions for price pressures declining to 3.3 per cent from 4.2 per cent in May. The headline reading from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers came in at 63.9, higher than estimates of 60.2 from Dow Jones.

Friday also marks the final trading day before a long weekend, with the market closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth.

In company news, Adobe added 0.9 per cent after beating results and issuing upbeat guidance, the latest tech stock to rally.

AI darling Nvidia gained 10 per cent this week, adding to its 192 per cent surge this year. Microsoft added 4.7 per cent this week and hit a record Thursday.

Tech shares were the hardest hit initially when the Fed embarked on its rate-hiking campaign.

GM plans to open a fourth battery plant in the US, following Tesla's vertical integration strategy over the past decade for electric vehicle sales.

GM expanded its North American EV supply chain, built factories, secured raw materials, and surpassed Ford in North American EV sales. They also offer six models qualifying for the full $7,500 tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, outperforming Ford, Volkswagen, Rivian, and Tesla.

Overall, US sectors were Mixed. Utilities was the best performer, whilst Communication Services trailed behind.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.04 per cent fall.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:15 AM was buying 68.73 US cents.

Commodities

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.6 per cent gain.

Gold added 0.03 per cent. Silver gained 0.75 per cent. Copper lost 0.14 and oil advanced 1.64 per cent.

Figures around the globe

Across the Atlantic, European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.19 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.41 per cent while Paris closed 1.34 per cent higher.

In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.66 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.07 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.63 per cent higher.

On Friday, the Australian sharemarket closed 1.06 per cent higher at 7251.

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
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