The US stock market surged to record levels on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 marked their strongest week in a year after Donald Trump's election win. The Dow rose 259.65 points, or 0.59%, to close at 43,988.99, briefly crossing the 44,000 milestone during the session for the first time ever. The S&P 500 gained 0.38% to settle at 5,995.54, also reaching a historical intraday peak above 6,000. Although the Nasdaq Composite rose just 0.09%, ending at 19,286.78, it too set a new intraday record high.
For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 4.66% and the Dow gained 4.61%, both posting their best weekly performance since November 2023. The Nasdaq led with a 5.74% increase, while the small-cap Russell 2000 soared 8.57%.Sector performance was broadly positive, with Utilities leading the gains, up 1.79%, while Materials underperformed, declining by 0.91%. Companies with ties to Trump experienced strong interest, with Tesla shares climbing 8.2%, pushing the firm's market cap above $1 trillion. Law enforcement tech firm Axon Enterprises surged over 28% after raising its revenue forecast, and Trump Media gained 15% as the president-elect announced he would retain his stake in the company.
The Federal Reserve also supported market sentiment with a quarter-point interest rate cut on Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell conveyed optimism for economic resilience, which contributed to the rally.
Futures and Global Markets
SPI futures indicated a 0.4% drop. In global markets, European stocks were down, with London's FTSE falling 0.84%, Frankfurt down 0.76%, and Paris losing 1.17%. Asian markets saw Tokyo's Nikkei up 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.07% and the Shanghai Composite declined 0.53%.
Commodities and Currency
Gold fell 0.41%, silver dropped 1.27%, copper lost 2.83%, and oil declined 2.74%. The Australian dollar was buying 65.84 US cents as of early Friday.
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