US close: S&P closes out best week in 2015
A benchmark for US shares finished the week with its largest gain in a year, bolstered by so-called consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks, as investors continued to react positively to indications from earlier in the week that the pace of interest rate hikes in 2016 will be quite gradual.
That message appeared to be reinforced to a small degree on Thursday night and Friday in fresh remarks from three US rate-setters.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average ended the Friday session up by 91.06 points to end at 17,823.81, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq moved higher by 7.93 and 31.28 points each, to end the week at 2,089.17 and 5,104.92, respectively.
For the week as a whole, the S&P 500 was left sporting gains of 3.3%, alongside falling levels of volatility.
Boom times ahead, says Fed´s Bullard
Speaking on Friday, St.Louis Fed President James Bullard said: "I think we are going to return to an era where there is a bit more uncertainty about what the (Fed's policy-setting) committee is going to do meeting to meeting."
In the 2004-2006 interest rate cycle the Fed jacked up the Fed funds rate at 17 consecutive meetings.
Monetary policy should be more data-dependent and the central bank must be ready to be flexible, Bullard reportedly added.
The economy is headed into a 'boom' period, the rate-settered also said.
Overnight on Thursday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said that Fed policymakers had done everything "we can to avoid surprising the markets and governments when we move."
Nevertheless, a final decision had not yet been taken, Fischer said.
A decision to raise rates in December will be data-dependent, New York Fed president William Dudley added.
Retailers, healthcare pace gains
In company news, Gap jumped 7.53% despite cutting its profit guidance for the year late on Thursday, as quarterly sales fell more than expected.
From a sector standpoint the best performance was seen in the following industrial groups: Footwear (5.03%), Apparel retailers (3.88%), Home improvement retailers (2.77%) and Healthcare providers (2.37%).
Allergan jumped 3.5% on reports Pfizer was in advanced talks to buyout the company, possibly for as much as $380 per share.
Software maker Intuit rose 5.93% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, while Foot Locker advanced 5.67% after better-than-expected sales numbers and Abercrombie & Fitch soared 25.04% after it said its quarterly profit rose because the company offered less discounts during the period.
Railroad and defence stocks continued to see some buying momentum.
S&P 500 - Risers
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $50.84 +10.04%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $26.98 +7.53%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $103.20 +5.93%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $5.06 +5.86%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $132.65 +5.46%
Aetna Inc. (AET) $104.43 +4.55%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $298.60 +4.37%
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $90.30 +4.27%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $47.04 +4.12%
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $70.15 +3.62%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $536.19 -12.32%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $8.70 -9.66%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $9.04 -7.57%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $5.08 -5.93%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $43.90 -5.73%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $28.66 -5.04%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $11.29 -4.65%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $27.23 -4.36%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $30.41 -4.07%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $56.92 -3.87%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $132.65 +5.46%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $130.21 +2.64%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $112.97 +2.12%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $71.14 +1.60%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.66 +1.29%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $138.50 +1.29%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $120.07 +1.15%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.66 +1.05%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.57 +0.73%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $115.83 +0.70%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $89.01 -2.00%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.43 -1.58%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $60.07 -1.04%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.39 -0.81%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $191.47 -0.81%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.79 -0.64%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $75.82 -0.52%
American Express Co. (AXP) $72.42 -0.44%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $66.70 -0.43%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.18 -0.34%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $50.84 +10.04%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $103.20 +5.93%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $75.05 +3.35%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.99 +3.24%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $123.84 +3.01%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $49.62 +2.54%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $756.60 +2.46%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $516.57 +2.46%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $777.00 +2.24%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.29 +1.99%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $97.00 -5.93%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $56.92 -3.87%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $59.56 -3.59%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $60.55 -2.95%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $113.13 -2.83%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $15.43 -2.77%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $103.02 -2.10%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $79.77 -1.42%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $43.95 -1.41%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $81.83 -1.21%