U.S. Extend Upward Trend Amid Optimism About Lower Interest Rates

Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher for the fifth straight day, largely offsetting the steep losses posted last week.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow advanced 297.01 points or 0.7 percent to 41,393.78, the Nasdaq climbed 114.30 points or 0.7 percent to 17,683.98 and the S&P 500 rose 30.26 points or 0.5 percent to 5,626.02.

For the week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 6.0 percent, the S&P 500 shot up by 4.0 percent and the Dow surged by 2.6 percent.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday and is almost universally expected to lower interest rates by at least 25 basis points.

Recent inflation data has partly offset optimism the Fed will lower rates more aggressively, but the central bank is still expected to continue cutting rates over the next several months.

Adding to the positive sentiment on Wall Street, the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved by more than anticipated in the month of September.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 69.0 in September from 67.9 in August, while economists had expected the index to inch up to 68.0.

The report also showed a continued decrease by year-ahead inflation expectations, which fell for the fourth consecutive month.

Year-ahead inflation expectations edged down to 2.7 percent in September from 2.8 percent in August, hitting the lowest level since December 2020.

The Labor Department also released a report before the start of trading showing import prices in the U.S. decreased by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

Sector News

Interest rate-sensitive housing stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.8 percent to a record closing high.

Gold stocks also showed a strong move to the upside amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 2.2 percent.

Substantial strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Computer hardware, brokerage and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved higher on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved back to the upside following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 3.0 basis points to 3.650 percent.

Looking Ahead

While the Fed’s monetary policy announcement is likely to be in the spotlight next week, reports on retail sales and industrial production may also attract attention.