by Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly higher on Friday, as investors analyzed comments from US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials ahead of next week’s release of inflation data.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.32%, or 125.08 points, to 39,512.84 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 8.60 points, or 0.16%, to 5,222.68 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.40 points (0.03%) to 16,340.869 points.
Comments from Fed officials helped set expectations, as investors now turn their eyes to next week’s consumer and producer price reports in hopes that they will also strengthen the prospect of a rate cut.
“Nobody really wants to take a position until next week,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive of Horizon Investment Services in Indiana. “And we’re entering a time of year where people seem to be finishing early on Fridays.”
“Apart from the deterioration in household morale, there is little to eat,” he added.
The first results of the monthly survey from the University of Michigan published on Friday showed that the morale of American households had deteriorated more than expected in May, the confidence index having settled at 67.4 while the Economists polled by Reuters expected 76 and after 77.2 in April.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic acknowledged that there were signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, but added that the start and extent of the Fed’s monetary easing cycle were uncertain.
In values, Nvidia gained ground after Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC reported an increase of almost 60% in its sales in April.
The American laboratory Novavax jumped after the announcement of a licensing agreement with the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi for the joint marketing of a vaccine against COVID-19 and the development of combined vaccines against influenza and COVID-19 , for a total amount of up to $1.2 billion (€1.11 billion).
(With the contribution of Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bangalore; French version Camille Raynaud)
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