The highest inflation reading in nearly 40 years did little to deter Wall Street today, as stocks charged higher in the afternoon hours. The Dow walked away with a 216-point pop, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered substantial wins of their own. For the week, all three major indexes finished with solid gains, with the Dow snapping a four-week losing streak. Elsewhere, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) logged its fourth loss in five days and clocked its worst weekly percentage loss since 2016.
The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 35,970.99) added 216.3 points, or 0.6% for the day, and 4% for the week. Cisco Systems (CSCO) led the gainers, adding 3%, while Goldman Sachs Group (GS) paced the laggards with a 1.4% fall.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,712.02) rose 44.6 points, or 1% for the day, and 3.8% for the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 15,630.60) jumped 113.2, or 0.7% for the day, and 3.6% for the week.
Lastly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 18.69) shed 2.9 points, or 13.4% for the day, and 39% for the week.
INFLATION DATA HELPS GOLD TO FIRST WEEKLY WIN SINCE NOVEMBER
Oil prices settled higher on Friday to notch an over 8% win for the week -- the best since August. Today's pop came as investors became confident that the omicron strain will not majorly impact crude demand or economic activity. In turn, January-dated crude added 73 cents, or 1%, to finish at $71.67 per barrel.
Gold prices finished higher as well to score their first weekly gain since early November. Boosting the yellow metal was a red-hot inflation reading, which saw its biggest jump in nearly four decades. As a result, February-dated gold rose $8.10, or 0.5%, to close at $1,784.80 per ounce. For the week, prices were slightly above breakeven.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.