U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher, Dow, S&P 500 Reach Best Closing Levels Since Early 2022

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, with the major averages all climbing firmly into positive territory after showing a lack of direction early in the session.

The Dow and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels since early 2022, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day at a four-month closing high.

While the Dow jumped 294.61 points or 0.8 percent to 36,245.50, closing high for the fourth straight session, the S&P 500 advanced 26.83 points or 0.6 percent to 4,594.63 and the Nasdaq climbed 78.81 points or 0.6 percent to 14,305.03.

For the week, the Dow surged by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 increased by 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq rose by 0.4 percent.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a continued contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of November.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI came in at 46.7 in November, unchanged from October, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 47.6.

"The weaker-than-expected ISM survey will reinforce financial markets' expectations that the Fed's next move is a cut," said Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank.

Stocks saw further upside even after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's called speculation about interest rate cuts "premature" during remarks at Spelman College.

Powell acknowledged recent signs of slowing price growth but said the Fed is committed to keeping monetary policy restrictive until officials are confident inflation is on a path to 2 percent.

"It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease," Powell said.

Powell stressed the Fed is prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate, although most economists believe the central bank is done raising rates.

Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial, suggested traders viewed Powell's comments as inching toward the dovish camp.

"A few weeks ago, Powell said policy is restrictive but today, he believes policy is 'well into restrictive territory,'" Roach said. "I think it's fair for markets to latch on to that subtlety."

Sector News

Transportation stocks extended the strong upward move seen on Thursday, driving the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 3.0 percent to a three-month closing high.

Substantial strength also emerged among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The index reached its best closing level in two months.

Banking stocks also saw significant strength on the day, with the KBW Bank Index jumping by 2.7 percent to a nearly four-month closing high.

Tobacco, telecom, housing and commercial real estate stocks also moved notably higher amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a substantial rebound following the pullback seen on Thursday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled 12.6 basis points to a three-month closing low of 4.352 percent.

Looking Ahead

The Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report is likely to move into the spotlight next week, while traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on service sector activity, job openings and consumer sentiment.