All three major U.S stock market averages have continued their climb as they closed out the week with new record highs. The S&P 500 Index has now closed higher for four weeks in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained positive Friday despite decline of major components like Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
Here's how the U.S. stock market closed Friday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.49% or +15.86 points
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.28% or +78.13 points
Nasdaq Composite Index (NYSE: QQQ): +0.42% or +37.74 points
On Friday, President Donald Trump tweeted: "Had a very good talk with President Xi of China concerning our giant Trade Deal. China has already started large scale purchases of agricultural product & more. Formal signing being arranged." This tweet lifted stocks affected by the trade decision further, leading U.S. stocks towards their biggest annual gains since 2013.
In U.S. Economic News, the Bureau of Economic Analysis's third-quarter GDP grew only 0.01%, reading 2.1% for the second-quarter's 2.0%. Though growth is slow for GDP, consumer spending has only increased, with the third-quarter's revision rising to 3.2% from the perviously reported 2.9%. Consumers continue to lead the current economic expansion.
In U.S. Stock Sector News, all eleven sectors soared into positive territory as they ended weekly trading. The gains included Energy +0.88%, Utilities +0.78%, Health Care +0.78%, Real Estate +0.66%, Consumer Staples +0.65%, Industrials +0.58%, Information Technology +0.57%, Materials +0.45%, Communication Services +0.38%, Consumer Discretionary +0.12% and Financials +0.06%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, oil prices took a steep dive today. West Texas Intermediate's barrel prices dropped over -1.50% and Brent Crude slipped over -0.70%. However, prices as a whole gained this week and investors predict that this slump is only temporary. Gold, on the other hand, saw considerable gains today, with the metal's price climbing +3.5%, climbing well above its opening price of $1,479.25 to close at $1,530.80 per ounce. Finally, the U.S. Dollar is also trading well, with the DXY Index increasing almost +0.30% to end the week.