US stocks end week near flat line after wild ride

US stocks edged higher on Friday as the market continued its remarkable recovery from Monday’s sharp sell-off, nearly erasing the week’s earlier losses.

The S&P 500 rose 0.47 per cent, closing at 5,344.16, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.51 per cent, ending at 16,745.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 51 points, or 0.13 per cent, to finish at 39,497.54.

Turning to US sectors, all closed higher on Friday except for Materials, which fell by 0.1 per cent. Communications was the best performer.

For the week, the S&P 500 was down just 0.04 per cent, having briefly turned positive during Friday’s session before giving up some gains. The Dow and Nasdaq, however, ended the week with losses of 0.6 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively.

Last week saw the most market volatility of 2024. On Monday, the Dow plunged 1,000 points, and the S&P 500 dropped 3 per cent due to disappointing payroll data and concerns over delayed Fed rate cuts. However, the market rebounded on Thursday with the S&P 500 surging 2.3 per cent, the Dow jumping 683 points, and the Nasdaq climbing nearly 2.9 per cent following an upbeat jobless claims report.

In commodity-related news, US crude oil prices surged over 4 per cent last week, driven by a combination of easing recession concerns and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which could potentially disrupt oil production and supply chains.

The curtain is beginning to close on the earnings season. More than 91 per cent of S&P 500-listed companies have posted their quarterly financial results, according to FactSet data as of Friday afternoon. Of those that have already reported, more than 78 per cent have beaten Wall Street’s expectations. This week promises to be pivotal, with retail behemoths Home Depot and Walmart, as well as technology stalwart Cisco Systems, set to unveil their financial health and offer further clues about the trajectory of the broader economy.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.8 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.30am was buying 65.74 US cents.

Commodities

Gold gained 0.41 per cent. Silver lost 0.07 per cent. Copper added 0.86 per cent. Oil rose 0.85 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.28 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.24 per cent, and Paris closed 0.31 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.56 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.17 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.27 per cent lower.

On Friday, the Australian share market closed 1.25 per cent higher at 7777.70.

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