Friday saw record highs for U.S. stocks as large banks rebounded after a string of encouraging earnings reports.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 409 points, amounting to 1 per cent to set a new record, after hitting the opening bell in the final trading session of the second week in the month of October at 42,507.53 points, with a 53 point surge in the positive territory.
The index went on to touch the record high level of 42,899.75 points in the last trading session of the week. The Dow Jones concluded Friday’s trading session at 42,863.86 points.
The S&P 500
While the S&P 500 increased 0.6 per cent to surpass its all-time high set earlier in the week and end its fifth consecutive winning week.
The S&P 500 shuttered at 5,815.03 points in the last trading session of the 2nd week of October.
Following a decline, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3 per cent, trailing the market.
Inflation data
September saw a 1.8 per cent increase in producer prices over the same month last year. That was a slight improvement over the year-over-year inflation rate in August, but not as much as analysts had predicted. According to analysts, it probably helped allay concerns raised the day before when a report revealed that consumer inflation wasn’t declining as quickly as forecast.
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate last month from a two-decade high as part of an effort to broaden its mandate beyond merely combating excessive inflation.
Late on Thursday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury increased from 4.07 per cent to 4.09 per cent. The two-year yield, which more accurately predicts future actions by the Fed, decreased slightly from 3.96 per cent to 3.95 per cent.
