A big screen display of stock prices hangs behind traders working at the New York Stock Exchange NYSE on May 9, 2022.
Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images
US stocks advanced on Friday after a seesaw session that was jolted by FTX’s bankruptcy filing.
The S&P 500 marked its best weekly gain since in June, aided by cooler October inflation.
China has eased COVID-related restrictions, aiding in gains for equities.
US stocks ended Friday’s session higher, with investors using China’s moves to ease COVID restrictions to build on the rally sparked by cooling inflation in the US.
After a seesaw session, all three of Wall Street’s main indexes pushed higher. The S&P 500 notched its best weekly advance since June. Nine of the index’s 11 sectors rose, led by the energy and consumer discretionary groups while health care and utilities sagged.
Stocks got a lift early after China reduced quarantine requirements for travelers coming into the country who have tested positive for coronavirus. Travelers will now need to spend five days in a hotel, down from seven, said the National Health Commission. China also got rid of a penalty on airlines that carried infected passengers.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:
S&P 500: 3,992.93, up 0.92%Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,747.86, up 0.10% (32.49 points)Nasdaq Composite: 11,323.33, up 1.88%
Equities surged Thursday after headline and core consumer price inflation in October rose by less than economists had widely anticipated. Headline inflation of 7.7% was below estimates of an increase to a rate of 7.9%. Investors have been looking for the Federal Reserve to signal that it will begin cutting interest rates as inflation eases, but inflation still remains well above the central bank’s 2% target.
Also on Friday, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, with Sam Bankman-Fried also stepping down as CEO. Earlier, crypto lender BlockFi said it’s halting client withdrawals and limiting activity on its platform, citing uncertainty surrounding FTX.
Bankman-Fried’s assets have become essentially worthless, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Here’s what else is happening today:
FTX users trying everything — from NFTs to Tether — to yank their money off the crypto exchange. The assets of FTX subsidiary FTX Digital Markets were frozen by the Bahamas securities regulator. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn warned inflation isn’t over and revealed he was building an activist stake in Twitter before Elon Musk’s takeover. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway cashed in about $4 billion of US Bancorp stock, cutting its stake in the company by more than 60% in four months.Apple‘s market value soared $190.9 billion on Thursday — a record single-day gain for a US-listed company. Some 32 tech billionaires collectively added $59 billion to their net worth from Thursday’s equity rally, according to Bloomberg.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
West Texas Intermediate crude popped up 2.9% to $89.00 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, tacked on 2.5% to $96.01. Gold increased 0.9% to $1,769.04 per ounce. The US bond market was closed for Veterans Day. On Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 32 basis points to 3.81%.Bitcoin fell 6.3% to $16,683.55.