Dow Climbs Above 44,000 For First Time But Nasdaq Edges Lower

After ending the previous session nearly unchanged, the Dow has climbed firmly into positive territory during trading on Friday, reaching a new record intraday high above 44,000.

The broader S&P 500 has also reached a new record intraday high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has edged slightly lower.

Currently, the Dow is up 286.18 points or 0.7 percent at 44,015.52 and the S&P 500 is up 20.20 points or 0.3 percent at 5,993.30, but the Nasdaq is down 27.05 points or 0.1 percent at 19,242.41.

The advance by the Dow comes amid strong gains by Procter & Gamble (PG), UnitedHealth (UNH) and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Overall trading activity appears somewhat subdued, however, as traders take a breather following the recent surge on Wall Street.

The rally largely reflected a positive reaction to former President Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Trump’s return to the White House is expected to be positive for corporations and the U.S. economy, although there are some concerns about the effect planned tariff increases will have on inflation.

In U.S. economic news, preliminary data released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment has improved by more than expected in the month of November.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index climbed to 73.0 in November from 70.5 in October. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 71.0.

With the bigger than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 77.2 in April.

Sector News

Interest rate-sensitive stocks are seeing considerable strength on the day, as treasury yields extend the notable pullback seen in the previous session.

With the yield on the benchmark ten-year note pulling back further off the four-month closing high set on Wednesday, utilities, commercial real estate, housing and telecom stocks have all move notably higher.

On the other hand, steel stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbling by 2.0 percent after ending Thursday’s trading at a seven-month closing high.

Oil service and gold stocks are also seeing significant weakness, moving lower along with the price of their associated commodities.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slid by 1.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.8 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the notable rebound seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.2 basis points at 4.281 percent.

Business News