Positive job reports and possibly no interest rate hike fueled rise
There was a positive jobs report and also signs that the Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates further. Trump has been complaining that a raise in interest rates would slow down the economy. The week was a volatile one for stocks. Not only Apple’s announcement of reduced future earnings took down stocks the other day but a possible slowdown in the economy and the continuing trade war with China may also have played a part. The negative news however may have led the chairman of the Federal Reserve to say that the central bank would be “patient” when it comes to raising interest rates. This response no doubt helped the market to recover on Friday.
Speaking at a panel discussion of the American Economic Association, Powell said that he would not resign if asked by the president. This also may have had a positive effects on markets.
In the Washington Post, Powell said: “With the muted inflation readings that we’ve seen coming in, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves. We’re always prepared to shift the stance of policy and to shift it significantly if necessary.”
The Indexes move up
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose a huge 746.9 points or about 3.3 percent. This is the fourth biggest daily increase of all time. The Dow has risen 1,641 points since Xmas Eve. The Nasdaq did well also moving up even more at 4.3 percent or 275.4. The S&P closed up 3.4 percent.
Every sector was up on Friday. Only 16 stocks in the S&P 500 were negative. AMD was up 11 percent after being the leading S&P stock last year.
Riskier stocks led the trend upward. This included tech companies that lost a lot of value lately. Facebook rose 5 percent. Apple gained back 4 percent. Amazon rose 5 percen. Netflix also rose an even larger 10 percent. Even Alphabet (GOOGL) rose 4.3 percent.
