Prepared by: Hisham Mukhana and agencies
Standard & Poor’s ended the week with slight gains, as the benchmark index recorded its strongest first quarter in five years, with investors evaluating the latest batch of economic data as they look forward to the next inflation reading.
Each of the three US indices recorded strong quarterly gains, led by communications, energy and technology services, which are the best performers among the eleven major sectors during this quarter, which led to a 10.1% rise in the S&P index, supported by optimism about stocks related to artificial intelligence and expectations. The Federal Reserve will begin further lowering interest rates this year, and the Dow Jones is less than 1% away from breaching the 40,000-point level for the first time, rising 5.6% during the three months ending in March. The Nasdaq also ended the quarter with growth. 9.1%.
By the end of the week’s trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.29 points, or 0.12%, to 39,807.37 points, and the Standard & Poor’s gained 5.86 points, or 0.11%, recording 5,254.35 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 20.06 points. , or 0.12%, declining to 16,379.46 points.
Thursday’s data showed that the US economy grew faster than previous estimates in the fourth quarter, partly due to strong consumer spending. In contrast, a separate report showed that initial unemployment claims indicate that the labor market is still on a strong footing.
Over the course of the week, the Dow Jones rose by 0.84%, the S&P advanced by 0.39%, while the Nasdaq fell by 0.3%. While the increase in March was 2.08%, 3.1%, and 1.79%, respectively.
“The economy is in very good shape and is booming, the consumer is as well and is still spending, unemployment is at low levels, and then you get the sentence that the Fed insists on repeating, ‘Maybe we will lower interest rates,’” said George Young, portfolio manager at Villery & Company. And you see everyone trying to analyze the words of the officials there.”
While US stock markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday, the focus will be on next week’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, for clues about the timing and size of this year’s interest rate cuts from the central bank.
- European markets
European markets ended the first quarter of 2024 approximately 6.8% higher, as recent inflation data continues to show easing pressures from rising prices.
The European Stoxx 600 index closed the last day of trading up by 0.18% (+7% for the week), after reaching a new highest level ever in March, recording more than 513 points during the session before falling slightly, and this was the best quarter. In a year, according to Lseg data, the best month since December 2023.
Travel stocks, which led gains throughout the day, rose 0.95%, while utilities fell 0.5%. Markets will remain closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday, with most trading in the region not resuming until Tuesday.
The German DAX rose 0.08% to 18,492.49 points (+1.74% for the week), as did the British FTSE 100 index, with a jump of 0.26% to 7,952.62 points (0.89% for the week), and the French CAC, which recorded a slight growth of 0.01. % at 8205.81 points (+0.64% for the week).
On the data front, GDP figures confirmed Thursday that the UK economy entered recession in 2023 with a contraction of 0.3% in the last quarter. Meanwhile, the German Statistics Agency said: Employment rose slightly in February.
- Asia Pacific
Japanese and Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, while most Asia-Pacific markets – in Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand – remained closed for a public holiday.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.5% to close at 40,369.44 points, after a decline of about 1.5% in the previous session. The broader Topix index also rose by 0.65% to close at 2768.62 points after a decline of 1.7%.
China’s CSI 300 index jumped 0.47% to end the session at 3,537.48 points. The “Kospi” index in South Korea also concluded trading almost flat at 2746.63 points, but the smaller “KOSDAC” slipped by 0.5% to 905.5 points.
2024-03-30 12:35:51
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