Stocks rise on Wall Street, hold on to weekly gains
PTI
New York, Aug 8 (AP) Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its third weekly gain in the last four.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6 per cent and sitting just below its record. The benchmark index is on track to recover most of its losses from a slide last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 9:57 am Eastern. The Nasdaq added 0.6 per cent to the all-time high it set a day earlier.
Gilead Sciences jumped 8.4 per cent for one of the biggest gains on the market. It reported financial results that easily beat analysts' forecasts, while also raising its earnings forecast for the year.
Expedia Group also notched one of the biggest gains, advancing 6.6 per cent after also reporting encouraging financial results.
Technology companies, with their hefty stock values, were doing much of the heavy lifting for the market. Nvidia rose 0.8 per cent and Microsoft rose 0.6 per cent.
The main focus throughout the week has been on President Donald Trump's trade war and its potential impact on the US economy, as well as the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.
Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries on Thursday. The unknown path of the economy amid an unpredictable tariff policy has been the key reason for the Fed to hold its benchmark interest steady.
Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28 per cent from 4.25 per cent late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed actions, rose to 3.76 per cent from 3.73 per cent late Thursday.
Asian markets closed mostly lower except in Tokyo, where the Nikkei rose 1.9 per cent. European markets were mixed. (AP) SKS SCY SCY
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments
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