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U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors closed out the best week of 2024, part of a market comeback from a violent rout to begin August.
The S&P 500 added 0.2% to 5,554.25, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.21% to 17,631.72 on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.24% to 40,659.76. For the week, the S&P 500 added nearly 3.9%, its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq gained 5.2% while the 30-stock Dow advanced 2.9% on the week.
Following the comeback this week, the S&P 500 is now just 2% away from its mid-July record high. Data this week helped assuage a jittery market. Retail sales data released Thursday came in much stronger than economists expected, while weekly jobless claims fell. Both offered evidence that recession fears, which helped spark a global sell-off earlier this month, were overblown. Inflation readings released earlier this week also bolstered hopes that a soft landing scenario was still possible.
“Data released over the past week has struck the right balance, being not too hot, nor too cold,” UBS head of investment for global wealth management Mark Haefele wrote on Friday. “This should help allay both concerns of a looming recession or that sticky inflation will hamper the Federal Reserve if swift rate cuts are needed to defend growth.”
Shares of Nvidia are among the biggest winners in technology stocks on the week with a gain of more than 18%. Apple and Microsoft advanced roughly 4% and 3%, respectively, for the week.
The Dow dropped 1,000 points and the S&P 500 had its worst day since 2022 on August 5 as investors feared the Federal Reserve was too late to cut interest rates and the economy was slipping into a recession. A hedge fund currency trade unwind added to the market volatility.
But investors stepped in to buy since then, with the S&P 500 gaining for seven days in a row as economic reports quelled recession concerns. The Nasdaq posted its best week since November 2023. On Friday, consumer sentiment rose more than expected, according to the latest University of Michigan survey.
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