US: Stocks end higher, notch third week of gains

WALL Street stocks concluded a positive week on a benign note on Friday, shrugging off early losses and extending a rally amid hopes a slowing US economy will avert a recession.

Major indices secured a third straight week of gains after benign inflation data earlier in the week boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will not enact additional interest rate increases.

“Every time the market tries to sell off a little bit, more buyers show up,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. “We are setting the stage for a strong end to the month and a strong end to the year.”

The broad-based S&P 500 ended at 4,514.02, up 0.1 per cent for the day and 2.2 per cent for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of less than 0.1 per cent at 34,947.28, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 per cent at 14,125.48.

Microsoft fell 1.7 per cent on news of the sudden departure of ChatGPT chief executive Sam Altman. Microsoft has been a major investor in the artificial intelligence company.

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Among individual companies, Gap surged more than 30 per cent despite a cautious forecast as investors cheered sign of a turnaround by newly installed CEO Richard Dickson.

Applied Materials fell 4.0 per cent following a Reuters report that the chip company faces a criminal probe over potential exports to a Chinese company. The report came as the company offered an upbeat forecast for the upcoming quarter. AFP