U.S. Stocks Extend Winning Streak, Reach New Record Highs

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Friday, extending the rebound from the steep drop seen on Monday. With the continued advance, the major averages all reached new record closing highs.

The major averages finished the session just off their highs of the day. The Dow climbed 238.20 points or 0.7 percent to 35,061.55, the Nasdaq surged up 152.39 points or 1 percent to 14,836.99 and the S&P 500 jumped 44.31 points or 1 percent to 4,411.79.

The four-day winning streak represents a remarkable turnaround for the markets following the sell-off on Monday, which dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in almost a month.

For the week, the Dow shot up by 1.1 percent, while the S&P 500 spiked by 2 percent and the Nasdaq soared by 2.8 percent.

The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies.

Shares of Snap (SNAP) soared after the Snapchat parent reported an unexpected second quarter profit on better than expected revenues.

Social media giant Twitter (TWTR) also moved notably higher after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat revenue guidance.

Shares of American Express (AXP) also moved to the upside after the financial services company reported second quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) came under pressure after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected second quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Housing stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.3 percent.

The index continued to rebound after ending Monday's trading at its lowest closing level in almost four months.

Significant strength also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent advance by the Dow Jones Utilities Average.

Networking, software and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while oil service stocks fell sharply despite amid a modest increase by the price of crude oil.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved notably higher on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after an early drop but remained in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.1 basis points at 1.286 percent.

Looking Ahead

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision is likely to be in focus next week, with traders paying close attention to any comments regarding the central bank's asset purchase program.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on some key U.S. economic data, including reports on new home sales, durable goods orders, consumer confidence, second quarter GDP and personal income and spending.

Earnings news may also continue to attract attention, with Tesla (TSLA), General Electric (GE), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Boeing (BA), McDonald's (MCD), Pfizer (PFE), Amazon (AMZN), and Exxon Mobil (XOM) among a slew of companies due to report their quarterly results.