The boom party returned to Wall Street on Friday. The market is waiting for Iran’s response to the framework agreement between Iran and the United States, which could end the war. So far, Iran has not responded to the proposal made by the United States.
The S&P 500, which tracks large companies, rose 0.8 percent to 7,398.93 points. The technology-focused Nasdaq advanced 1.7 percent. Both indices have now risen for six weeks in a row, which is the longest rising streak since 2024, investment media Barron’s says.
The flagship company index Dow Jones, on the other hand, barely rose to a plus, remaining close to yesterday’s closing price. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks small companies, strengthened by 0.8 percent.
Data on the strength of the US labor market boosted market sentiment on Friday. Investors are confident in the resilience of the world’s largest economy, even though the Iran war has caused a historic energy shock globally. Fuel prices have also risen in the United States, for example.
However, employment in the United States increased in April for the second month in a row, and the unemployment rate remained stable.
“The economy is in much better shape than the pessimists have predicted. Although high oil prices and persistent inflation bring headwinds, new jobs are still being created in the labor market,” says Northlight Asset Managementin investment manager Chris Zaccarelli according to the news agency Bloomberg.
Oil prices have fallen as investors await more information on possible peace talks between the United States and Iran. The price of Brent reference quality is still around one hundred dollars per barrel.
More broadly, the sustainability of the market is explained by the companies’ strong earnings. According to the news agency Bloomberg, around 82 percent of the S&P 500 companies have exceeded first quarter earnings expectations.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported the chip company Intel’s and Iphone manufacturer Apple’s of the preliminary chip agreement between Intel advanced by 14 percent, boosted by the news. Apple strengthened by two percent.
From other big technology companies, the chip giant Nvidia increased by 1.8 percent. Google’s parent company Alphabet strengthened by 0.7 percent, the e-commerce and cloud service company Amazon 0.6 percent and an electric car company Tesla four percent. A software company Microsoft fell 1.4 percent and the social media company Meta 1.2 percent.
Network equipment manufacturer on the New York Stock Exchange Nokia increased by 3.6 percent. Nokia’s depository receipt or ADR is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.