On Friday, US stock indices continued to rise: the S&P 500 rose by 0.4%, the Dow Jones by 338 points, and the Nasdaq by 0.2%. Investors are positive about market prospects, especially for artificial intelligence and energy sector companies, UNN reports with reference to AP News.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% and is nearing the end of its seventh winning week out of the last nine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 338 points, or 0.7%, as of 11:33 a.m. Eastern Time, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%. All three indices are moving away from the all-time highs set the day before.
As noted, Treasury yields also remained relatively stable in the bond market after mixed reports on the activity of American companies in healthcare, real estate, and other service sectors. One report from the Institute for Supply Management indicated a halt in activity growth, while another report from S&P Global indicated slow growth.
Usually, on the first Friday of each month, Wall Street is focused on the monthly employment report published by the US government. It shows how many jobs employers created and eliminated, and updates the unemployment rate.
Such data, as the publication notes, is particularly important now, given how much Wall Street is banking on the labor market continuing to slow enough for the Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates. But the US government shutdown, which is now in its third day, is delaying the release of the report.
The US stock market is currently ignoring government shutdown delays. Previous partial government shutdowns had little impact on the economy or stock exchanges, and a similar scenario is expected this time, even despite President Donald Trump's threats of massive cuts to federal employees.
One of the market drivers remains the artificial intelligence industry, which attracts investors' attention and stimulates large expenditures. An additional impetus to the industry was given by the agreement between the Japanese company Hitachi and OpenAI on cooperation in the field of AI. This followed a series of previous OpenAI announcements for South Korean companies, and after the news, Hitachi shares in Tokyo rose by 10.3%.
But artificial intelligence stocks have become so dominant, and so much money has poured into the industry, that concerns are growing about a potential bubble that could eventually lead to investor disappointment.
Among the losers on Wall Street were Applied Materials shares, which fell 2.2%. The company, whose equipment helps produce semiconductor chips, said its fourth-quarter revenue would fall by approximately $110 million due to a new US Department of Commerce rule expanding export restrictions for certain China-based customers.
Oil producers' shares rose as crude oil prices recovered some of the sharp losses recorded earlier in the week due to fears that the amount of oil in inventories would be too high compared to demand. Exxon Mobil shares rose 1.6% and were one of the strongest factors that lifted the S&P 500 index.
In overseas stock markets, indices were mixed in Europe and Asia.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index was a big winner, rising 1.9%, partly due to Hitachi's jump.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes remained stable at 4.10%, as it was late Thursday.