Revised data showed that US inflation continued to cool, helping the S&P 500 close above 5,000 points for the first time.
At the close of trading on February 9th, the S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to 5,026 points. The DJIA fell 0.14% to 38,671 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.2%.
For the week as a whole, the S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq gained 2.3%. Both indices have been up for five consecutive weeks and have risen in 14 of the last 15 weeks.
"At the end of the day, we got more good economic news. The market reacted to that," Dana D'Auria, Chief Investment Officer at Investnet, commented on CNBC.
Stockbrokers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo: Reuters
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on February 9th revised figures showing that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% in December compared to the previous month. This rate was lower than the preliminary estimate of 0.3%. Core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) remained unchanged.
"This will give the Fed more confidence that economic growth and employment will not drive inflation higher," commented Ellen Zentner, an economist at Morgan Stanley. The January CPI will be released next week.
Positive corporate earnings, cooling inflation, and a vibrant economy have helped US stocks accelerate their gains early this year. The S&P 500 briefly surpassed 5,000 points on February 8th, but ultimately lost that mark. The S&P 500 had surpassed 4,000 points in April 2021, when the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to near 0% to support the economy during the pandemic.
"A close above this level would certainly attract a lot of attention and fuel FOMO (fear of missing out). Round numbers like 5,000 are often psychological resistance or support levels for the market," commented Adam Turnquist, strategist at LPL Financial.
Shares of major US tech companies led the gains yesterday. Nvidia and Alphabet both rose more than 2%. Cloud computing service provider Cloudflare even surged 19% thanks to strong earnings. Last month, shares of Nvidia, Microsoft, MetaPlatforms, and Alphabet all hit record highs at the close of trading several times.
Ha Thu (according to Reuters, CNBC)
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