At the auction last Friday, American stock indices reported a steady rise amid the strengthening of the technological, as well as consumer goods and services sectors. Thus, the Dow Jones Industrial Average industrial stock index increased by 0.80% to 34,754.93 points, the S&P 500 broad market index gained 1.17%, jumping to 4,463.12 points, and the high-tech NASDAQ Composite rose by 2.05% to 1,3893.84 points.
At the end of last week, the Dow Jones index soared by 5.5%, the S&P 500 - by 6.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite - by 8.2%. Such spectacular growth figures for one seven-day period have become the maximum since the autumn of 2020.
The maximum results among the DJIA components were shown by securities Salesforce.com Inc (+3.96%), Nike Inc (+2.98%), and Visa Inc Class A (+2.65%). The list of the main outsiders here was headed by shares of Verizon Communications Inc (-2.39%), Johnson & Johnson (-1.11%), and Dow Inc (-0.67%). The growth leaders among the components of the S&P 500 stock index on Friday were the securities of Match Group Inc (+7.80%), EPAM Systems Inc (+7.76%), and HP Inc (+7.55%). The leaders of the decline here were the shares of FedEx Corporation (-3.97%), Cincinnati Financial Corporation (-3.27%), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (-3.05%).
The main favorites in the NASDAQ Composite stock index were Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd (+54.21%), Rezolute Inc (+52.42%), and Redbox Entertainment Inc (+50.28%). The shares of Bt Brands Inc (-39.22%), Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc (-31.63%), and Nymox Pharmaceutical Corp (-28.57%) reported minimal results. On the NYSE stock exchange, the number of securities that lost in price (2099) exceeded the number of those that increased (1086). At the same time, the indicators of 99 shares remained unchanged. On the NASDAQ stock exchange, quotes of 2,592 companies declined, 1,223 increased, and 148 closed at the level of the previous session. The CBOE Volatility Index formed based on options trading indicators on the S&P 500 sank by 7.01% to 23.87 points - a new monthly low.
During the past week, the stock market has demonstrated the usual high level of volatility over the past month. Traders tried to predict the prospects for economic growth and corporate profits against the background of skyrocketing inflation, an increase in interest rates by the world's leading central banks, the conflict in eastern Europe, and a new outbreak of coronavirus in China. One of the tangible factors of support for the market last week was the optimistic economic forecasts of the head of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. Earlier, the regulator raised the key interest rate by 25 basis points for the first time in the last four years. According to the results of the March meeting of the US Federal Reserve, the rate range is now 0.25-0.5% per annum.
At the same time, Powell said that the American economy is strong enough to withstand the tightening of monetary policy. By the way, after a noticeable increase during the first three days of last week, the US stock market returned to the levels it was at before the start of the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia. The day before, a popular investor and founder of Navellier & Associates Louis Navellier said that market participants stopped focusing on the short-term consequences of tough sanctions against Russia and changes in the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, but chose long-term prospects and hopes for future economic recovery, low unemployment and rising profits of global corporations.
At the same time, analysts of one of the world's largest investment banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., believe that the markets are still unable to fully assess the risks associated with the conflict in eastern Europe. This, according to experts, is evidenced by the increase in American and European stock indices, as well as the reversal of oil prices after a spectacular jump. Goldman Sachs believes that the markets today are under pressure from the prospects associated with possible termination of negotiations or a future decline in global energy supplies. According to statistics published on Friday, in the secondary housing market of the United States, the sales figure fell to a six-month low.
According to the latest information from the National Association of Realtors, last month sales sank by 7.2% to 6.02 million homes in annual terms. In January, this figure was 6.49 million. At the same time, analysts predicted a decrease in February by only 6.2% from the previously announced January level.
