The Friday trading session proved to be a good day for the trading week to end. Among all the indexes, the S&P 500 Index demonstrated the best performance on a particular day.
This happened because the investors were able to assess the recession fears alongside the interest rate hikes and the inflation data.
If the investors are given a clearer picture of all the aspects and major factors impacting the economy, they can make better trading decisions.
This is what the investors got access to this time and they made the right choice of supporting the stock markets. The S&P 500 Index was able to benefit the most from the involvement of the users.
Data from the US Department of Commerce
The US Department of Commerce recently released a report providing a clearer picture of exactly where the economy stands at the moment.
The report shared by the Department showed that hardly any rise was recorded in November when it came to the spending of US consumers.
It went on to show that the inflation rate went even lower. This meant that the cooling of the inflation rates continues amidst the consistent rise of the interest rates.
Although the figures were more than promising, the Feds were not convinced enough to put a cap on the interest rate hikes.
They were encouraged even more to continue with the interest rate hikes and that is what they are doing. The Feds have already decided that they will increase the interest rates.
The recent data reveal has not moved them enough to decide that they will go back on their interest rate hike policy.
The Feds are determined to keep the interest rates hiked even in the year 2023.
This means that the value of the dollar would continue rising and any companies enlisted on the US stock markets would benefit from that.
With the sentiments of the investors growing more positive, they have started to re-enter the stock markets. As they are spending more on stocks, the indexes are reflecting the surges.
The report further showed that the price index for personal consumption expenditures for the month of November showed a growth of 0.1%.
In the month of October, the growth for the same index was 0.4%, suggesting that the inflation rates are cooling off faster than expected.
It is worth noting that the most preferred gauge for inflation referred to by the US Feds is the personal consumption expenditures one.
Survey Results from the US Consumers
According to consumers from the United States, the inflation rates will continue dropping in the year 2023. They are confident that the price pressure will lower in the respective year.
They have also predicted that the inflation rates will hit an 18-month in the year 2023.
The indices on Wall Street saw a sharp selling as the data was shared by the US Feds. The US economy has finally started to recover and the stock markets are demonstrating such trends.
Performance of Major Indexes
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a 0.53% surge and added 176.44 points. The S&P 500 index surged by 0.559% and it successfully gained 22.43 points.
As for the NASDAQ Composite, it was moved up by 0.21%, successfully adding a total of 21.74 points.
After the increase, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended its most recent trading session at a high of 33,203.93 points. The S&P 500 index ended its trading day with 3,844.82 points.
Then came the NASDAQ composite index which reportedly ended its trading day at 10,497.86.
Despite ending the latest trading session with positive figures, the rest of the week did not see a positive finish.
The data shows that the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ Composite index ended their week with negative figures.
The S&P 500 index recorded a 0.2% weekly dip while the NASDAQ Composite experienced a 1.94% weekly dip.
