Stocks soared on Friday, thanks to investors’ hopes for less aggressive rate hikes from the US central bank. All three indexes ended the day higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average skyrocketing by 750 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both surged more than 2%.
ALthough markets widely expected two more 75 basis point rate hikes this year from the Fed, expectations for a hike that size in December have been reduced after a report from the Wall Street Journal said officials are concerned about overtightening.
The 10-year Treasury yield also closed slightly lower but was still at post-crisis highs around 4.2%.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,753.15, up 2.38%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,083.02, up 2.47% (749.43 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,859.72, up 2.31%
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.7% to trade at $85.16 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged 1.2% to $93.54.
- Gold climbed 1.4% to $1,659.60 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield plunged to 4.2%.
- Bitcoin gained 0.7% to $19,229.82.
