Nasdaq, S&P 500 log fifth straight weekly gains; crude oil prices climb ahead of US holiday weekend

On Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 16,920.79, up 184.76 points or 1.1%. The S&P 500 settled at 5,304.72, marking a gain of 36.88 points or 0.7%. The numbers cheered the market, which moved into a long weekend with the US Memorial Day holiday falling on Monday.

The other main index – Dow Jones Industrial Average – ended nominally higher but snapped its five-week winning streak. The index settled at 39,069.59, up 4.33 points or 0.01% as against the preceding day’s close.

Upbeat economic data

The steady performance of the US stock market was factored by the upbeat economic data released over the last couple of days. On Thursday, S&P Global released data that showed America’s business activity accelerating at its highest pace in over two years.

S&P Global’s U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, based on the manufacturing and services sectors data, rose 54.4 in May 2024, which is the highest since April 2022.

On Friday, the University of Michigan released a survey that showed consumers’ inflation expectations improving in May, after worsening last month. The 12-month inflation expectation lowered to 3.5% from 3.3%, the survey showed.

However, the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting released earlier in the week showed officials indicating a sticky inflation, which may delay the much-awaited rate cut cycle.

“Participants noted that they continued to expect that inflation would return to 2% over the medium term. However, recent data had not increased their confidence in progress toward 2% and, accordingly, had suggested that the disinflation process would likely take longer than previously thought,” the minutes stated.

Crude oil climbs

The improvement in US macroeconomic indicators, with the S&P Global’s U.S. Composite PMI Output Index jumping to a two-year high, led to a recovery in crude oil prices. The improved inflation expectations, as found in the University of Michigan survey, also positively impacted the prices, analysts said.

Brent crude futures rose 0.76% to reach $82.12 per barrel, whereas the US West Texas Intermediate futures edged higher by 0.85% to close at $77.72 a barrel.