NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, capping a volatile but ultimately positive week for Wall Street as easing oil prices, progress in Middle East peace talks, and the swearing-in of a new Federal Reserve chairman steadied investor nerves heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent on the week, extending its winning streak to eight consecutive weeks — the longest such run since December 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 294 points Friday to reach a fresh intraday record high, closing at 50,579, marking its third positive week in four. The Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent, securing its seventh weekly advance in eight sessions.
The week did not start smoothly. Stocks sold off in the first two trading sessions before bouncing back, buoyed by easing oil prices and a pullback in long-term Treasury yields. Analysts noted that oil prices and Treasury yields have become the primary levers driving near-term market action, with higher oil prices stoking inflation concerns that tend to pressure equities.
President Donald Trump led a ceremony Friday swearing in Kevin Warsh as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, placing him in charge of a central bank navigating a turbulent economy and a president with specific expectations on interest rates. Trump said he wanted Warsh to “just do your own thing and do a great job” and insisted he wanted the new chair to be “totally independent.”
Weekly jobless claims fell to 209,000 for the week ending May 16, coming in below economist expectations of 213,000. U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in April, though uncertainty surrounding the conflict in the Middle East has added new questions about the broader economic outlook.
Technology was the standout sector for the month of May, up more than 10 percent and the only sector to outperform the S&P 500’s monthly gain. Friday’s Dow gains were led by Merck, Salesforce, and Cisco Systems, while Nvidia, Walmart, and Amazon finished in the red.
U.S. markets are closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Trading resumes Tuesday.
By: Big Sky Broadcasting Newswire
