New York stock market finished the week with a rise

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Lerato Khumalo

The S&P 500 index increased by 1 percent to 5,996.66 points and the Nasdaq index increased by 1.51 percent to 19,630.20 points.

While better-than-expected financial results of major banks in the USA and signs that core inflation is slowing down increased investors’ risk appetite, a positive trend was observed in the stock markets on the last trading day of the week.

While the increase in the shares of major technology companies led the rise in the indices, the shares of Nvidia and Tesla gained more than 3 percent, Amazon’s shares gained 2.4 percent, Alphabet’s shares gained 1.6 percent and Microsoft’s shares gained 1 percent.

The US 10-year treasury bond interest rate, which exceeded 4.80 percent at the beginning of the week and reached its highest levels since late 2023, dropped to 4.57 percent today and later stabilized at 4.62 percent.

Analysts stated that there remain question marks regarding the possible effects on the economy of the policies to be implemented by Donald Trump, who will take the presidency next week.

On the macroeconomic data side, the number of new houses built in the country increased by 15.8 percent in December 2024, exceeding market expectations.

Industrial production in the USA increased by 0.9 percent in December 2024, exceeding market expectations. The capacity utilization rate in the country increased by 0.6 points to 77.6 percent in the same period.

American stock markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.