S&P 500 Achieves Fourth Consecutive Week of Rises, Nasdaq Records Longest Series of Increases Since 2019

The main US stock indices concluded Friday’s trading with slight increases, but they were all in the green zone on the weekly level, for the S&P 500 index to achieve its fourth week of rises, recording its highest level since August 2022, awaiting inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s decision. this week.

In the last days of the week, the Nasdaq index continued its rise for the seventh week in a row, recording the longest series of increases since 2019, but the rise in the last week was around 0.14%.On the same day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.13%, while the S&P 500 only rose by 0.11%.

After the index most expressive of US stocks (S&P 500) entered the bull market “officially”, rising by more than 20% from the bottom recorded last October, investor sentiment rose, despite fears of the Federal Reserve continuing to impose its strict policies.

“It’s the first time in a while that investors have felt more certainty, and we believe this was a turning point from an earlier, more cautiously bearish forecast,” said Greg Pasuk, chief executive officer at AXS Investments.

In Europe, stocks fell today, Friday, at the end of a lukewarm week, amid quiet dealings, pending the decisions of central banks regarding interest rates, led by the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank), which is expected to announce its decision on Wednesday.

The Stoxx 600 European stock index ended the day’s trading down 0.2%, achieving a weekly loss of about 0.5%.

Investors hesitated to buy stocks, pending the decision of the US Federal Reserve, after the growing expectations of analysts that the largest central bank in the world will continue to tighten its policies, especially with the continued strength of the US labor market. The European Central Bank is also expected to continue raising interest rates on the euro, although it will not meet until August 4th.

The Stoxx 600 index was affected during Friday’s trading by the decline in the insurance and banking sectors, which are sensitive to interest rates, by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.

In a related way, oil prices fell more than a dollar a barrel on Friday, recording a decline for the second week in a row, after disappointing Chinese data added to concerns about demand growth, after Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut production.

Brent crude futures fell $1.17, or 1.5%, to $74.79 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.12, or 1.6%, to $70.17 a barrel, upon settlement.

The two benchmarks lost more than $3 on Thursday, after a media report indicated that the United States and Iran were close to reaching a nuclear deal, which would lead to an increase in supply, according to Reuters. The two benchmarks cut their losses after both countries denied the validity of the report.

Oil prices rose at the beginning of the week after Saudi Arabia pledged significant production cuts, in addition to the cuts it had agreed upon earlier with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.

However, the gains were reversed after the announcement of a rise in US fuel stocks, and the release of weak data on Chinese exports.

Some analysts expect oil prices to rise if the Federal Reserve does not raise interest rates at its next meeting on June 13-14. Analysts told Reuters that the Fed’s decision may also affect Saudi Arabia’s next move.