S&P 500 rises 0.86%; crude oil retreats after sharp weekly surge; VIX falls more than 11%
U.S. stocks rallied Friday, with all three major indexes posting solid gains to close out the week even as they remain below levels reached a month ago.
The S&P 500 rose 0.86% Friday to close at 7,656.98, though the index is still down 0.80% over the past five trading days and 1.82% over the past month. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.96%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 52,573.29. Small-cap stocks also advanced, with the Russell 2000 up 0.45% on the day, though the index remains down nearly 5% over the past month.
Volatility eased sharply. The CBOE Volatility Index tumbled 11.21% Friday, though it remains up more than 9% over the past five trading days, reflecting a choppier stretch for markets over the past several weeks.
Sector performance was broadly positive. Technology stocks rose 1.32% Friday and remain up more than 37% over the past six months, continuing to benefit from sustained investor enthusiasm around artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. Industrials gained 1.07% on the day despite a 7.22% decline over the past month, while energy shares added 0.32%, extending a run that has left the sector up nearly 46% over the past year amid a sharp rise in oil prices.
Crude oil pulled back Friday after a strong weekly advance. West Texas Intermediate fell 2.37% on the day to $100.05 a barrel but remains up nearly 8% over the past five trading days and more than 73% year to date. Gold was little changed, edging up 0.04% to $4,408.90 an ounce, while silver rose 0.40% to $65.19.
Treasury yields moved higher across the curve over the past month, though they were mixed on the day. The 10-year yield stood at 4.96%, up more than 7% on a one-month percentage basis, while the 2-year yield reached 4.63%. Longer-dated yields also climbed, with the 30-year at 5.35%.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.93% Friday and is down nearly 6% over the past month, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1.76% on the day despite an extraordinary 103.5% gain over the past year. European markets were broadly higher, with Italy’s FTSE MIB up 1.36% and Germany’s DAX rising 0.88%, as the region’s major indexes posted modest weekly gains.
Cryptocurrencies were mixed. Bitcoin edged up 0.13% to $77,299.45, while ether slipped 0.09% to $2,513.20; both remain down sharply over the trailing 12 months even after strong gains over the past month.
By: BSB News wire