Major indexes in the United Sates, the NASDAQ composite and the S&P 500 in particular, settled higher on Friday’s closing bell. This is while waiting for the French presidential election outcome.
In addition to the rising indexes in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial average also edged higher. Shares of Apple lifted NASDAQ and Dow to notch their record highs. All three indexes however struggled to acquire gains and traded in a tight zone last week.
The NASDAQ composite added 25.42 points at 6,100.76. The S&P 500 gained 9.77 points at 2,399.29. While the Dow Jones industrial average was 55.47 points higher, to settle at 21,006.94.
Wunderlich Securities’ chief market strategist Art Hogan says the tight trading session tells the market that shares went up by 2 percent on the previous week, they are close to hit their all-time highs and now the earnings season is done, the market can now divert its attention to much important issues.
In economic news, after the U.S. Labor Department reported a firm employment growth for the month of April, indexes traded in a tight range. The economy of the country gained more than 211,000 jobs and the jobless claims was down by 4.4 percent. The predicted employment growth was only 185,000 and the unemployment rate by 4.5 percent, according to a Reuter’s poll. Meanwhile the average hourly wages was 0.3 percent higher.
When the figures of March were flat, Wall Street had been waiting for April’s jobs report. Investors are also indicating if the U.S. Federal Reserve could stabilize its monetary policy. They might have secured their rates last week but it signalled a possible rate hike for June.