Stocks Move To The Upside, Nasdaq And S&P Reach Record Highs - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While buying interest was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. The upward move on the day lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Dow inched up just 23.89 points or 0.1 percent to 22,405.09. The Nasdaq advanced 42.51 points or 0.7 percent to 6,495.96 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.30 points or 0.4 percent to 2,519.36.

For the week, the Nasdaq jumped by 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 0.7 percent and the Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.

The higher close on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Republican tax reform plan and attempt to assess the path forward for the proposal.

A report from Bloomberg News said the vast majority of economists surveyed predicted that the tax reform plan would widen the budget deficit.

The Trump administration has argued that the stronger economic growth spurred by the tax cuts would offset the cost.

In other news, President Donald Trump reportedly met with former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to discuss his potential nomination as the next chair of the central bank.

The meeting, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was also attended by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Warsh is seen as more hawkish than current Fed Chair Janet Yellen and has been a vocal critic of the Fed's monetary stimulus policies since the financial crisis.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing personal income and spending both rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said personal income edged up by 0.2 percent in August after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in July.

Economists had expected income to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report said personal spending also inched up by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by an unrevised 0.3 percent in July. The uptick in spending matched expectations.

A separate report from MNI Indicators unexpectedly showed a significant acceleration in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of September.

MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer jumped to 65.2 in September from 58.9 in August, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.

The substantial increase by the business barometer came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 58.5.

Sector News

Many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable strength emerged among steel stocks. Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index advanced by 1.1 percent.

Ryerson (RYI) posted a standout gain, jumping by 14.2 percent after providing upbeat third quarter revenue guidance.

Notable strength was also visible among trucking stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. The gain extended a recent upward move by the index, which reached a record closing high.

Biotechnology, housing, and semiconductor stocks also moved to the upside on the day, while gold stocks moved lower along with the price of the precious metal.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.5 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged.

The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both advanced by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged up by 1.7 basis points to 2.326 percent.

Looking Ahead

Economic data may have a significant impact on next week's trading, with the closely watched monthly jobs report due to be released next Friday.

Reports on manufacturing and service sector activity, construction spending, and international trade may also attract attention along with remarks by Yellen.