US close: Stocks end higher on surge in GE stock
US stocks finished the week on the up, led by a surge in shares of General Electric and despite somewhat hawkish remarks from a top policymaker.
Apple Inc.
$182.40
13:10 07/05/24
Dow Jones I.A.
38,884.26
04:30 15/10/20
General Electric Co.
$168.78
11:10 07/05/24
Nasdaq 100
18,091.45
12:15 07/05/24
The Dow Jones Industrials ended the day 99 points or 0.55% higher at 18,058, while the Nasdaq Composite notched up a gain of 0.43% to finish at 4,996. The S&P 500 had also advanced by the finish of trading, rising by 11 points or 0.52% to end at 2,102.
Both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite ended the week with gains of about 2%.
Speaking on Friday, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Richmond, Jeffrey Lacker, again backed the case for a “lift-off” on interest rates at the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting.
“In current circumstances, raising the funds rate target a notch or two is less like taking away the punch bowl and more like just slowing down the refills. We will still be spiking the punch—just not quite as rapidly as we have been,” Lacker said.
General Electric backs out of the financial space
Industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) on Friday said it will sell or spin-off most of its activities in financial services. Some market commentary saw that as a reaction to the increasingly onerous regulations which have been brought to bear on the industry since the financial crisis – lowering firms’ returns on capital.
Jack Welch, the predecessor of GE’s current chief, Jeff Immelt, voiced his support for the move, telling broadcaster CNBC: “I like the package. It looks like a smart move and right for the changing financial landscape.”
Shares of Apple rose after launching the pre-order period for its much-awaited Apple Watch.
From a sector standpoint the largest gains were seen in the following industrial groups: Diversified industrials (5.58%), General industrials (4.77%) and Business training (2.60%).
The US import price index decline 0.3% month-on-month in March, following a downwardly revised gain of 0.2% in the previous month. The consensus estimate had been for a drop of 0.4%.
Front month West Texas crude futures gained 1.93% to stand at $51.77 per barrel by the end of trading on NYMEX.
US 10-year Treasury yields retreated by one basis point to end at 1.95%.
S&P 500 - Risers
General Electric Co. (GE) $28.51 +10.80%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $25.58 +5.59%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $683.02 +4.80%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $454.57 +3.43%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $530.36 +3.37%
International Paper Co. (IP) $56.28 +3.29%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $182.68 +2.99%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $62.00 +2.79%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $44.52 +2.75%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $43.55 +2.49%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $19.15 -3.96%
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $65.50 -3.79%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $41.14 -3.72%
Principal Financial Group (PFG) $50.28 -3.23%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $69.42 -3.07%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $29.61 -2.79%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $5.09 -2.68%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $18.30 -2.56%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $44.86 -2.24%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $7.73 -2.03%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
General Electric Co. (GE) $28.51 +10.80%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $82.60 +2.38%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.93 +2.21%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.04 +1.50%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $97.80 +1.29%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.44 +1.17%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $85.56 +1.08%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.06 +0.72%
Boeing Co. (BA) $154.38 +0.63%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $115.24 +0.58%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $99.97 -0.74%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $40.88 -0.41%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $57.25 -0.31%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $80.65 -0.24%
Visa Inc. (V) $66.34 -0.15%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $106.91 -0.04%