2024-03-02 21:30:00
Sherif Adel (Washington)
US stocks continued their strong performance in weekend trading, led by technology stocks, with the Nasdaq index recording its highest levels since 2020, continuing the dominance of companies benefiting from the boom in the use of artificial intelligence, and coinciding with the issuance of reports confirming a decline in inflation in the largest economy in the world.
By the end of Friday’s trading, the three major indices were in the green zone, as the Nasdaq index, which is stocked with technology company stocks, rose by 1.14%, and the S&P 500 index rose by 0.8%, while the rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.23%.
Friday’s rises came in the wake of a strong performance by the major US stock indices in the last days of February, ending its fourth consecutive month of gains, and witnessing the Nasdaq index recording a record close, for the first time since November 2020.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices recorded record closes on both Thursday and Friday.
The two-day rises completed the march of strong stock rises, which accelerated as of last November, despite temporary declines that worried investors and cast doubt on the sustainability of the marathon supported by the rush for artificial intelligence products and applications.
The consumer spending price index, which was announced on Thursday, showed that prices in America rose at the lowest pace since 2021. This index is the most important measure for the Federal Reserve Bank, whose board members are currently studying market conditions, to make a decision on the interest rate, within less than three days. Weeks.
The data issued in Washington gave new support to the markets, as most investors saw it as helping the Federal Reserve take a decision to start reducing interest rates before the middle of the current year, specifically at the next June meeting. This caused stock prices to rise, simultaneously with a decline in bond yields.
The Nasdaq index topped the gains of the last four months, which were the strongest in several years, rising by 6.12%, while the rise in the S&P 500 index was 5.17%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average only rose by 2.22%, in the first four consecutive months of Gains since May 2021.
In Friday’s trading, the most important event was the rise in the shares of NVIDIA, a manufacturer of computer chips and one of the largest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom, by more than 4%, exceeding the level of $820, bringing the company’s market value to the level of two trillion dollars, and it ranked third among the largest companies in the world. In terms of market value.
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