The S&P 500 index closes the week with strong gains

• The S&P 500 rises 1.54% and closes at 4,414.57 points, which represents its seventh consecutive week of gains.
• The Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also posted gains, with the technology and consumer sectors leading the way.
• Markets ignore Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments and focus on mixed economic data.
• Next week will focus on US inflation data, jobless claims and comments from Federal Reserve officials.

Wall Street is set to end the week with gains as the S&P 500 makes solid gains above the 4,400 figure, shrugging off deteriorating consumer sentiment, while US Treasury yields rise. They stabilized after rising more than 10 basis points across the entire yield curve on Thursday.

Wall Street ends the week higher and the S&P 500 exceeds 4,400, despite contradictory economic signals and the Fed’s restrictive stance

At the time of writing, the S&P 500 gained 1.54% late on Friday and remains at 4,414.57, on track for seven weeks of gains, while the Nasdaq 100 rises 2.05% to 13,798.56. . The biggest laggard was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose 1.20% to 34,298.

On Thursday, US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks were brushed aside by traders, who remain reluctant to accept additional rate hikes from the US central bank. Meanwhile, a survey by the University of Michigan (UM) revealed that Consumer Sentiment deteriorated, while American households revised upward their inflation expectations a year from now, placing them at 4.4%, while for five years, at 3.2%.

Against this backdrop, US 10-year Treasury yields failed to gain traction and ended almost flat at 4.618%, while the Dollar fell 0.09%, as measured by a basket of six currencies, namely the Index of the US Dollar at 105.79.

By sector, the leaders were Technology, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary Goods, which rose 2.69%, 1.67% and 1.66% respectively. The laggards were Public Services, Health and Consumer Staples, which gained 0.52%, 0.60% and 0.66%, respectively.

Investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve, as Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated that policymakers can bring inflation to their target with the current level of the federal funds rate. For her part, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly was against dovish stances and added that the Fed may have to raise rates again if progress on inflation stalls.

Next week’s economic agenda will include data on US inflation, jobless claims, and the Fed’s intervention will provide some clues about the state of the US economy.

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