US: S&P 500 ends at record to conclude winning week for stocks

[NEW YORK] The S&P 500 finished at a fresh record on Friday, concluding a strong bounceback week for Wall Street on easing worries about monetary policy uncertainty.

The broad-based index ended at 4,280.70, up 0.3 per cent and a second straight record. The index added 2.7 per cent for the week.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7 per cent to 34,435.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 14,360.39, snapping a streak of three straight records.

The Dow suffered its worst week since October last week due in part to a shift in messaging from the Federal Reserve.

But equities recovered this week, as investors greeted statements from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other top central bankers that signaled no plans for an abrupt pivot in their easy money policies.

This week's parade of Fed speakers showed "most" are sanguine about inflation, "but some are getting nervous," said Chris Low of FHN Financial.

"At the moment, there's no way to know for certain which group is closer to the truth," Mr Low said.

On Friday, investors shrugged off Commerce Department data that showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index spiked 3.9 per cent in May if compared to the same month in 2020.

Among individual companies, Dow member Nike surged more than 15 per cent after reporting blowout earnings and projecting solid sales growth through 2025 as it touts its ramp-up of direct selling of sports merchandise to consumers.

FedEx dropped 3.6 per cent as it reported better than expected profits, but warned of higher labour costs.

Virgin Galactic soared 38.9 per cent after US officials cleared the company to take customers to outer space, approving the first commercial license for space travel.

AFP