US stock indexes fell in a volatile week this week, with the Dow Jones index ending the week’s trade down 0.01%, while the Standard & Poor’s index lost 0.69% during the week. week, while the Nasdaq closed down 1.57%.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed higher on Friday in a volatile trading session as defensive equity gains overshadowed energy declines and investors ignored aggressive comments from Federal Reserve officials in regarding the increase in interest rates.
Book the stresses
Boston council chair Susan Collins said that with little evidence of an easing in price pressures, the central bank may need to raise interest rates by 75 basis points in a bid to control inflation.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard confirmed Thursday that “the monetary policy rate is not yet in an area that would be considered tight enough.” He added: “The change in monetary policy stance appears to have had only limited effects on observed inflation, but market prices indicate that deflation is expected in 2023.”
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday: ‘I’m looking at a very tight job market and I don’t know how anyone can continue to bring that level of inflation down without a real slowdown, and it could be that we have a downturn in the economy to get there.
Friday show
The Standard & Poor’s index rose 19.79 points, or 0.50%, on Friday to close at 3966.35 points, while the Nasdaq index rose 0.04%, to 11148.96 points. The Dow Jones index rose during the session by 208.68 points, or 0.62%, to 33,752.64 points.
Defensive groups led the index’s movement with the utilities and health care sectors rising.
The energy sector declined, along with falling oil prices, on concerns about weak demand in China and rising interest rates in the US.
European stocks
In addition, the European Stoxx 600 index closed higher on Friday with a broad rally led by shares of retail and auto companies as investors awaited the minutes of the European Central Bank’s latest meeting on monetary policy and a batch of data slated for release next week.
The European benchmark index jumped 1.2%, its best daily performance in more than a week. The index achieved a weekly gain of 0.2%.
The index gained 5.1% so far in November and is on track for a second consecutive month of gains, supported by several factors, including better-than-expected corporate earnings, despite lingering fears of a eurozone recession.
This week’s data showed that inflation hovered near a record high in October. An S&P Global survey of the Eurozone composite PMI due on November 23 is expected to show lower activity than in October.
The STOXX 600 index has lost more than 11% this year as investors fear aggressive rate hikes by the European Central Bank could exacerbate a recession in the eurozone, already rocked by an energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict .
Three senior policymakers said on Friday that the European Central Bank should raise interest rates enough to cool growth as it grapples with hyperinflation and could soon start reducing its 5 trillion euro debt (5.2 trillion dollars). But some have suggested slowing the pace of rate hikes.
The minutes of the European Central Bank’s October monetary policy meeting are due on 24 November.
Shares of automakers and retailers were among the biggest gainers on Friday, with gains of more than 2.1% each. (agencies)
